Finding Freedom
by Paradise-san786
Summary: When life with their abusive Aunt becomes too unbearable to stay, Emmett, Jasper and Edward - three brothers finally run away. They meet Rosalie, Alice and Bella – three best friends and enroll into Forks High School. Will they be able to escape their past? What will happen when their Aunt starts looking for them? AU & AH. Em/R, J/A & E/B. Contains abuse. R
1. Just a Normal Day

**Hello, thank you for clicking on my first Twilight story **_**(smiles)**_** I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I'm going to enjoy writing it.**

**WARNING:**** Does contain slight abuse, nothing too graphic, but please do not read if you don't feel comfortable about it. **

**The characters are all humans so it's AH and AU and they might be slightly OOC_ (smiles sheepishly)_, but they will show signs of their gifts/powers, so… I hope you enjoy.**

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**Disclaimer: I do NOT own anything of the Twilight saga, that's ALL**** Stephenie Meyer.**

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_He was wrapped up all warm and snug in his mother's gentle embrace, his arms were wrapped around her waist as his head rested on her shoulder. She was smiling down at him with nothing but love and care in her green eyes with her long bronze hair tickling his cheeks. _

_He felt his father's hand run through his equally bronze coloured hair, smiling down at him proudly and with equal amount of love like his mother. He smiled up at his father as he too circled an arm around his mother and chuckled as his wife gave him a tender kiss on his cheek._

_He sighed contently, he had missed this, missed his mum and dad so much that it hurt and he knew his brothers missed them just as much._

"_I missed you guys."_

_His father and mother smiled tenderly at him, "we missed you too," his mother's voice was as sweet and gentle as he remembered. His father ruffled his hair affectionately._

"_Please don't leave us again."_

_His mother and father smiled sadly down at him this time, not saying anything and he knew they couldn't._

_His mother's grip around him suddenly tightened and the comforting hand on his hair vanished. He looked up and was surprised to see his mother's face twisted into a scowl as she glared at him and his father was no longer there. _

"_Mum?" _

_Her grip on him kept on tightening and he struggled to get free, "mum please let me go."_

"_Why shouldn't I leave you? You're nothing but a waste of space. You are a burden on me, on your brothers. You won't amount to anything." His mother voice shifted into another voice he knew all too well and hated._

_He looked up again and was surprised to see his Aunts face looking down at him. She shared the same bronze hair of her young sister and her nephew and her green eyes were cold and hard as she gazed down at him. _

_His struggle to get away from her intensified, but her grip only tightened on him. He was unable to breathe and it hurt._

"_Let me go. LET ME GO."_

"_Now get up, you're going to make me late. Get up. GET UP." His Aunt kept yelling at him and he tried telling her if she didn't let go of him he wouldn't be able to do as she says, but she just kept screaming at him._

"_GET UP."_

Edward bolted straight up, covered in sweat and breathing harshly as he looked wildly around. No longer was he in his Aunts cruel embrace, but safe –momentarily he thought wearily– in their bedroom. He checked on his brothers as he concentrated on calming his breathing down. His two brothers were sleeping soundly around him, Jasper sleeping on his side next to him, curled up like a cat and Emmett sleeping horizontally at the end of the bed, snoring with one arm placed over his face and the other hanging off over the end of the bed.

Edward chuckled lightly and relaxed back on to his pillow, shared with Jasper. All three brothers shared the smallest room in the three bedroom house. They slept on a worn out double bed with two pillows, one that the two youngest shared and one the oldest had.

Suddenly there was a sharp knock on their bedroom door, startling Edward.

"ARE YOU UP YET?" yelled their Aunt from behind the door.

He quickly sat up and answered, "Yes, we'll be out in a few minutes."

"Well hurry up or you're going to make me late."

"Yes Aunt Giselle," he answered and heard her footsteps retreat downstairs.

Edward slowly gets out of bed, making sure not to jostle his brothers and quickly got changed into a faded red polo t-shirt and blue faded jeans.

He sighed as he looked at himself in the broken tall mirror they had standing against the wall. A tall pale boy with bronze hair and bright green eyes stared back at him. His hair was as ruffled and untidy as ever, he ran his hand through it, trying to tame it, but to no avail. He straightened out his clothes and looked around the room.

They had one wardrobe standing next to the mirror and one cupboard near their bed. All three of the brother's clothes were stuffed into the furnitures and some were scattered around the floor. Jaspers and Emmett's guitars were probed up against the wall near the door and posters of their favourite cars were decorating the walls. The walls of the room were a pale blue and other than the posters nothing else decorated it. Stacked up on the cupboard were Edward's music CDs and Jaspers books.

They could have put more things in the room to personalise it and Edward would have loved to get a CD shelf case to stack his priced CD properly, but their Aunt made them move a lot so it became tiring to organise their room and then strip them in a matter of weeks or months.

They were currently living in their grandparent's old house in Phoenix that their mother and Aunt had inherited, but because their mother passed away it was now their Aunt Giselle's. Edward sighed and ran his hand through his hair as he felt an ache rise in his chest remembering his mother and father.

His mother's name was Elizabeth Cullen and she used to be a brilliant music teacher and the best mother. She was very popular and the kids and adults loved learning from her. She just had a way of making music fun and easy to learn. She had taught Edward how to play the piano when he was four years old. He remembered all the times she used to take them all out to the park when she had her days off and treated them to ice cream; she used to make the best desserts after they had dinner and she did everything with a smile, never did he see his mother with it.

She was the most happiest when they were all together including when their father finally had time to join them. But what he loved and missed most about his mother was when she played the piano for them, he remembered how he and Jasper used to cuddle up next to her and Emmett sat with them as they listened to her play and taught them how to play.

Edward Cullen Senior was their father and he was a successful lawyer. He remembered his father as a tall and proud man, head full of curly brown hair and blue sparkling eyes. His father was always busy with serious cases, but every time whenever he was home or he got the chance off work, he spent every minute with his family. He missed how his dad used to pick him up and throw him in the air before catching him, how he played sports with them in their back garden and he had loved listening to him play the guitar with Emmett and Jasper, especially with their mum when they both put on a small concert in their living room.

Edward gave a small chuckle; his dad met his mum when he had wanted to learn to play the guitar after finishing his law degree. His mother had just got a job as a music teacher and dad was her first adult student. It was a story both parents loved to talk about.

And then… they were gone.

He was seven years old when his mother and father died in a car crash. They had gone to a function hosted by one of his dad's friends and it had started to rain heavily that night. His parent's car had collided with a truck and they had died reaching the hospital. He remembered when a police officer had come to their house and told them the news. All three of them had been devastated and crushed and after the funeral they had been placed with their mum's sister Giselle.

It was suffice to say she did not want them, she never got on with their mum, always hated the attention and talent their mum had. Aunt Giselle never even came to any of their family get togethers, not even for Christmas dinner. They didn't know why their Aunt hated their mother and they wished – even to this day– that they never moved in with their Aunt.

She was a complete opposite of their mother. She provided for them, but that's how far it went. She didn't want them and she made that clear countless times. At first it hurt to know that one of their own family members hated them and didn't want them, but after a while they came to accept it. She had made them move around a lot, she never held on to one job, always wanting something different, so they never stayed in one place for too long and it didn't give them a chance to make any friends.

She never gave them any treats or cooked any meals, which resulting in all three of them learning how to cook for themselves when she used to leave them home alone while she went out or for work. It's not when they got older did she start to become more aggressive and nastier. She would get angry with them quickly, which sometimes resulted in her hitting them. He remembered the first time she slapped him for accidently breaking her best dishes, he was twelve and she had grabbed him and dragged him to their room, locking the door from the outside and promising no food. His brothers had been so angry with her that day, they had tried to sneak him some food, but they got punished when they got caught trying to steal the key for the door. But it was never the physical abuse they couldn't handle, it was her verbal abuse.

Life with their Aunt was a nightmare and they couldn't wait to finally leave this place.

Edward turned round and looked at his sleeping brothers. Emmett had just turned nineteen years old; he was much like their dad in the looks department. He was very tall and muscular for his age, with curly dark brown hair and blue eyes. Edward and Jasper always described him as a big grizzly bear that was way too soft, which made their older brother grin at them before pouncing. He worked at a garage just a few blocked from where they lived. Emmett loved cars and he loved where he worked.

He looked at Jasper who was now spread out on the bed, one foot on Emmett's stomach while the other hung off the bed. Jasper was eighteen years old; he had honey blond hair and brown eyes. Their dad had always said he got his looks from their paternal grandfather and their dad's brother Carlisle Cullen as both of them were blond heads and his eyes from their paternal grandmother who had both brown hair and brown eyes.

Jasper was tall, lean and pale –a trait all three brothers shared. He worked at the nearest book store and Edward volunteered there as much as he could. Jasper loved to read, curling up somewhere nice and quiet with a good book. He kept all his books in their room after Emmett installed a lock enabling them to lock the door from the inside. Aunt Giselle had once ripped one of Jaspers favourite books when she had accused him of messing up the living room. Jasper had tried to defend himself, but that only caused her to tear his book to shreds. Their dad had gotten him that book for his birthday and he used to love reading it. After that he made sure he never had anything of his anywhere near her.

Both of his brothers were old enough to leave, but they wouldn't. They didn't want to leave him alone with their Aunt, not until he was of age and that was still a year away. Edward was sixteen years old; his birthday was next month, all three brothers had to wait until there were of age to move away from their Aunt. Well according to their parent's lawyer, who had explained to them when they found out about their inheritance. Their parents made it in a way that when all their children were of age they could have full access of the Cullen family accounts and funds if anything happened to them.

The Cullen family was very wealthy. His father's line was filled with lawyers and medical professionals and his mother's lines had a lot of members with successful businesses and musical skills and seeing as they were the only three descendants of the Cullen line as their Aunt Giselle never had any children –thank god for that— and their Aunt Esme could not have any children of her own, Emmett, Jasper and Edwards were the only next generation of Cullens.

Edward had tried to convince his brothers to move away without him when the abuse from their Aunt got too much, but they were stubborn and kept shooting him down whenever he brought the subject up, telling him that when they moved they'll move together. Secretly he was happy his brother's wouldn't leave without him and leave him alone with his Aunt. But he didn't want to be a burden and hold his brothers back, something that he often thought about.

Edward sighed and stretched, better wake up his brothers or Aunt Giselle would come back and harass them. He looked at the clock sitting next to the CD player and it read half seven. Their Aunt usually leaves for work at nine, but she always woke them up early so they could get started on their chores.

Edward moved to Jasper, he grinned at his brother's positioning before shaking his shoulder to wake him up.

"Jasper, get up. Come on Jazz," Jasper grumbled and rolled away from Edward.

Edward grinned and got on top of the bed; he positioned himself near his brother's face, brought his hand up and promptly flicked his brother's ear… hard.

Jasper eyes snapped open, he bolted right up and his hand automatically went to his offended ear. He turned to look at Edward and growled at him, "Of all the ways you have to wake me up you choose the ear flick?"

Edward shrugged with a grin, "it's the fastest way to wake you up and plus I don't want Aunt Giselle coming back up."

Jasper grimaced and nodded and got up to get dressed. Edward moved to the large form of their older brother who was still sleeping in the same position. "Emmett, get up. Emmett," called Edward, but all Emmett did was continue to sleep, from all three of them Emmett was the heavier sleeper. Edward huffed and shook his brother harder. "Dude, come on wake up or Aunt Giselle's going to have our hides."

Jasper shook his head as he finished changing into a green button down t-shirt and brown khakis which were just as faded as Edwards. "You know he's not going to wake up like that." He moved to stand near the bed and grabbed one of Emmett's legs, he grinned at his little brother who smirked and followed. "On the count of three," Jasper instructed, "one... two... THREE." And they both pulled on their older brother's legs, successfully sliding him off the bed and onto the floor with a thud. Emmett woke up with a start and sat up rubbing the back of his head.

"Is it morning already?" he moaned out, blinking a few times. He looked up at his two grinning brothers and scowled at them. "One day you guys are going to give me a concussion."

"Not with that thick skull of yours," said Jasper as he helped him up.

"I'm going to wash up and head downstairs. Get dressed quickly Em," said Edward as he walked to the door and undid the lock.

Emmett waved off his little brother with a nod as he started to look for his clothes and Jasper followed Edward out the door, quickly checking the time. "I'll wash up downstairs and get started on breakfast."

Edward nodded and made his way to the bathroom. He heard Jasper run down the stairs and heard their Aunt's voice telling his brother to hurry up.

Edward sighed; he didn't want to go downstairs. God knows he hated his Aunt, all three of them did. There hasn't been a day where something didn't go wrong or at least one of them didn't get punished about something or other. He quickly went into the bathroom, relieved himself, washed up and brushed his teeth.

After he finished, he walked out of the bathroom just as Emmett came out of their bedroom, he was dressed in a blue V-neck shirt and black jeans, "I'll meet you downstairs little bro," he said as he passed Edward to get to the bathroom and ruffled his hair.

Edward scowled playfully at him and hurried downstairs; he jumped the last few steps into the foyer and quickly made his way down the hall into the kitchen. He spotted Jasper making some eggs and bacon, the toaster already had six pieces of bread in it, there was a pan full of boiling eggs and he spotted a bowl on the counter filled up with pancake mix.

Jaspers frown turned into smile when he saw his brother walk in, "can you help me? I'm nearly finished with the eggs and bacon, could you get started on the pancakes please."

Edward nodded, "sure," and started getting to work; he got the pan out, put another one of the hobs on the cooker on and started pouring the mix to make the pancakes.

"It's another big breakfast," he noted as Jasper placed the eggs and bacon on a plate and on the island in the middle of the kitchen, he quickly got the toast out of the toaster and started putting margarine on it.

Jasper nodded wearily, "yeah, she's in a good mood. Said she's going to take some to work for someone. I'm guessing it another boyfriend."

Edward grimaced; he hoped this one went well for his Aunt. Not that he cared much for what his Aunts social life was like, but he knew this was another thing she hated about her nephews. She could not keep hold of a relationship for too long.

At the beginning her usually abusiveness is toned down and she isn't as nasty or snappy. She usually has a list full of chores for them to do and whenever she brings a guy over she expects everything to be clean and tidy, a meal to be ready with dessert and for them to be nowhere in sight. Whenever she had a break up, it's either for her bossy attitude, being too controlling and clingy or if any of the guys laid sight on one of them, they suddenly don't want the extra baggage of kids. That's when their Aunt becomes completely insufferable.

"How long do you think this one will last?" he asked absentmindedly as he flipped the pancakes.

Jasper shrugged and took out the sweet muffins out of the oven, now fully baked. "I'll give it two, three months tops. The reason will probably be that she was too clingy."

Edward grinned slightly, "Is that the mood you're getting off her?" he placed all the pancakes on a plate and put them on the island.

"Nah that's a guess, the mood I'm getting off her is that she really likes this guy," Jasper smirked and placed all the muffins on the island as well.

Edward sighed and started cleaning up, "Hope this one lasts."

Jasper scoffed, "I don't, hope this guy dumps her brutally."

Edward frowned, "don't say that."

"And why not? I want her to suffer just as much as she makes us suffer," he growled out.

Edward shook his head sadly, "not at what it'll cost us if she does."

He saw Jasper clench his fist tightly and close his eyes. Edward knew he was remembering the last time one of her boyfriends dumped her. She had deserved it and they told her that, but the end result was one being locked up in their room, one stuck outside for the rest of the hot night and one sleeping in the dusty attic. He had suffered from heat exhaustion after that and Jasper ended up having a chesty cough. Emmett was beside himself with worry, at the age of fourteen he had taken care of his brothers, didn't even let them help and forced them to stay in bed while he kept up with their Aunts demands for the rest of the week.

Jasper sighed and said nothing. At that moment Emmett walked in, "has anyone got started on the coffee yet?" he asked.

Jasper and Edward shook their heads; Emmett gave them a fond smile, "leave the easy stuff for me hu."

His little brothers grinned at him, "seeing as you can't cook dude," said Edward. He dried the last pan before drying his own hands and leaning against the counter.

Emmett stuck his tongue out at him, "I can cook just fine thank you. Just because I burned the kitchen once doesn't mean I can't cook anymore."

"It's safer for you if you don't attempt to do that again brother," said Jasper softly, his voice giving off a hint of amusement, but it didn't reach his eyes.

Emmett waved him off and moved to make their Aunt some coffee, Jasper took out a thermal bottle from a nearby cabinet and passed it to him.

Emmett looked at the array of food displayed on the island before looking at his brothers, "a new guy?"

Jasper and Edward nodded, Emmett sighed, "man she gets more boyfriends than I do girlfriends."

His two brothers grinned at him, "Well if you stop worrying about us all the time, you wouldn't have that problem now would you," said Jasper.

Edward agreed Emmett was always the overprotective one, no matter how safe they were or that he knew they could take care of themselves; he just couldn't help worry and want to keep them safe. Emmett always said he had a right to worry, being the oldest and basically being the man of the family, it was his job to worry and look after them. He had always tried his best to protect and take care of them, he took most of the brunt of Aunt Giselle's temper and abuse and he never let them worry too much about him. How could they when he was just so gosh darn happy and cheery all the time and would come out of any bad situation with a smile –so similar to their mothers– and his hearty laugh which was so infectious.

"I have every right to worry, so don't tell me I shouldn't," he said as he poured the hot coffee into the thermal bottle and placed it on the island with everything else. "We haven't missed anything have we?" Emmett looked around the kitchen as did Jasper and Edward.

"No I think we've got everything. Where is she?" Edward asked as he looked into the hallway.

"She went upstairs when I came down," said Emmett as he leaned against the fridge, "I wish she'd hurry. I'm starving."

Jasper and Edward nodded; they hadn't eaten much last night because they were hurried in to cooking dinner and tea and were made sure to finish off all the chores for the day. They had been too tired to eat anything and had just quickly shoved anything edible into their mouths before they crashed onto the bed.

Just then they heard their Aunt come down the stairs and walk into the kitchen, Edwards body tensed and he noticed so did his brothers. Giselle Mason was a slim and tall woman, shorter by a few inches by Emmett but taller than Jasper and Edward. Her bronze hair was straight and cut to her shoulders, her green eyes, so similar to Edwards and yet so different roamed over their faces before looking at the prepared breakfast. She was in professional attire of a short black skirt, white button down t-shirt, a smart black jacket and high heeled shoes; she was currently working an office job. "Is everything finished?" her voice was cold and hard –as it always was when she addressed them– "I don't want anything amiss like last time."

"Everything's ready Aunt Giselle," answered Emmett. "Will you be leaving soon?" his tone did not show he cared much for when she left or returned.

Aunt Giselle glared at him and didn't answer his question, "Pack this all up; I will have a list of chores for you when I come back and I expect this place to be spotless when I return." Her piercing green eyes looked at each one of them; it made a chill run down Edward's spine when her eyes landed on him, lingering a little before she moved to get out of the kitchen, "I'm going to get my car out. Don't keep me waiting."

She walked out of the kitchen and the three boys quickly set out on their task, they placed the food in some food containers and placed them into a large bag with the thermal bottle. Emmett picked up the bag and made his way to the hallway, he smiled at his brother, "why don't you guys get started on some breakfast for yourselves. I'll be back in a minute."

Jasper and Edward nodded and Emmett left. He returned a few minutes later with a scowl on his face as Jasper placed the plate of freshly finished pancakes on the island and Edward was just finishing with some scrambled eggs and bacon.

Jasper looked at his older brother, "what did that witch say now?"

Emmett walked to the fridge and got a carton of orange juice out and poured it into three tall glasses, "nothing that hasn't been said before bro."

Edward placed the eggs and bacon on three plates and handed them to his brothers, "when are you going to the garage?" he asked Emmett as he dug into his breakfast, followed closely by his older brothers.

Emmett looked at the clock hanging over the kitchen door, it read half eight, "in a few minutes, but I'll help you guys clean up first. There isn't much to be done today, so you guys can relax," he gave them one of his cheery smiles and they grinned at him, "I'll be back by four. When you leaving for the book store Jasper?"

Jasper quickly finished his drink before answering, "Not for another hour, I want to have a quick shower before I go though. Today's going to be another hot day."

"Can I come too Jasper?" asked Edward, he loved volunteering at the book store, he didn't care that he didn't get paid, as long as he was far away from here and near his brothers, he was all for it.

Jasper grinned, "Sure, Mrs Appleton was asking about you."

Edward grinned as well. Two old women ran the book store, Mrs Appleton and Mrs Hudson, both of them were sisters and they were quite taken by both brothers when they had offered their help at the store when they saw Mrs Hudson struggling with the boxes of newly delivered books. After that Jasper was offered a job there and Edward came and helped as much as he could. Their Aunt did not know about the book store and they were happy to keep it like that.

All three of them finished up breakfast and cleaned up the kitchen. Emmett left a few minutes after and Jasper made his way upstairs to have a quick shower.

Edward walked into the living room and crashed onto the white couch. He looked around the room making sure it was tidy before relaxing into the soft cushion. He didn't get many chances to just sit and do nothing and if he did he would usually get scowled by his Aunt and forced to do some inane chore.

The living room was a cosy and peaceful area; it wasn't a large room, but nor was it small, the walls were painted in a pale green colour with a slightly darker shade of green border running along the middle and top of the walls. A black flat screen television was placed above a black marble framed fireplace and a dark glassed coffee table resting in front of him. Another long white couch was stationed on his left against the wall and a matching armchair on his right. The window behind the armchair let him see the houses opposite theirs and the busy bustling street with people going about their business.

Pictures of scenic places were handing all over the walls, but there wasn't even one picture of their family or their grandparents. Aunt Giselle made sure to make them pack and seal them all away into the attic. There were no pictures of any of their family members in their mother and aunt's childhood home and that's how Aunt Giselle liked it.

But what he loved about the living room was the beautiful black grand piano standing proudly to the left of the window and armchair, near the corner of the room. He sighed as he looked at it; he remembered when they used to come and visits their mother's parent's house and how his grandmother and mother used to love playing on it.

Edward got up and walked to the piano, lightly running his hands over the shiny and polished surface. He was always the one to clean and look after it, whenever their Aunt gave them the list of chores, Emmett and Jasper always made sure that Edward got to clean the piano. They knew how much he loved it. His mother had told him a few months before the accident that they had three grand pianos altogether. One that he was gazing at right now, one at their own home in Chicago and one in their family holiday home at Forks.

Edward moved his hand over the fall board covering the keys at the front of the grand piano and ran his fingers over the engraved signatures of his mother and grandmothers. The signatures were so intricate and beautiful and Edward wished one day he'll be able to put his own signature with his mothers.

He sat on the seat behind him and lifted the cover off the keys. The white and black keys gleamed up at him and he placed his hands lightly on them, making sure he didn't press too hard. It was an old habit now, his Aunt wouldn't let him play the piano or go anywhere near it other than to let him clean it. He had been punished the last time she caught him playing, his brothers had found him huddled up in the corner of their bedroom sporting flaming red cheeks and dried up tear stains. After that he didn't dare play it whenever she was home and he had to remind himself now that she wasn't anywhere near him.

Edward let out a steady sigh and before he knew it his hands were running over the keys and music filled the room. He closed his eyes, his head tilted down as he let his hands glide over the keys. He was so familiar with this piece that he didn't even have to think, his hands knew where to go. This music piece was one of his favourites and the few of the very first his mother had taught him. The music was soft and light, it always made him relax whenever he heard or played it.

He didn't know how long he sat there, just playing and listening. He didn't notice when Jasper walked into the room, a soft smile on his face as he leaned against the side of the piano and listened to his brother play, waiting for him to finish before speaking.

As the song ended, Edward stopped and sat back, letting out a content sigh. He heard a chuckle and quickly looked up. Jasper was smiling at him, his brown eyes twinkling brightly. Edward blushed; he didn't know he had company.

"Clair de Lune."

Edward smiled at him as he got up and nodded, shutting the cover over the keys, "Clair de Lune," he confirmed.

"You haven't played that in a while." Jasper spoke softly, "It's good to hear it again."

Edward walked over to Jasper and stood next to him, "well it was mum's favourite."

Jasper nodded with a smile, "come on, let's go." They made their way out of the house and Edward locked the door before Jasper swung his arm over his little brother's shoulder and both of them made their way down the street.

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Edward and Jasper arrived back at their grandparent's house just before four. Jasper quickly went upstairs and dumped his new books on the bed before rushing back downstairs and joining Edward in the living room.

"Is she here yet?" he asked his brother.

Edward shook his head, "not yet."

"What about Emmett?"

Edward shook his head again, "he should be here in a few minutes though," and he sat on the couch, relaxing into the cushion. Jasper joined him and sighed tiredly.

Jasper had been right, today was yet another hot day and the new shipment of books had taken them nearly all day to get unpacked and stocked. They had told Mrs Hudson to stay at the till while they did all the manual work. Mrs Appleton was at home with a fever; she had exhausted herself with all the work and gotten herself ill. Edward was no stranger to getting sick; he could catch a cold or flu easier than his brothers, so he had no problem doing some extra work for Mrs Hudson.

With the new books in stock it meant a lot of customers came in today. Edward and Jasper spent time redirecting and searching for books and articles for the customers who had no sense to search for them themselves. They were happy when the rush died down after lunch time, though Edward didn't mind the group of children that came in and explored the children section. He had to smile and laugh at how excited they got when they found a book they really liked or those books that had the pop-up pictures and musical pages. Their parents had a hard time tearing them away from that section.

They had left after making sure Mrs Hudson could handle herself with the last few customers and closing down the store. They would have stayed longer but it would have raised suspicion and that was the last thing they needed. Edward knew full well if Aunt Giselle found out about their job at the book store, she wouldn't let Jasper keep one cent of his hard earned money.

Both of them were exhausted and unbearably hot, whatever they did to keep themselves cool failed miserably. Even though they kept the windows and door open in the store, there wasn't a cool enough breeze to help them fight off the heat.

Now both brothers were hot, achy and sweaty, and they were not looking forward to the chores their Aunt will have waiting for them.

They heard the front door open after a few minutes and both of the boys jumped off the couch.

"Ed? Jazz?" called Emmett's deep voice throughout the house.

Edward relaxed and leaned against the couch as Jasper ran his hands through his hair and called out to their brother, "in here Em."

Emmett walked in and sighed in relief when he saw his brothers were home. "She hasn't arrived yet?"

"No," said Jasper as he leaned against Edward and the couch.

Emmett took in their states and a small smile tugged on his face, "busy day?" he asked with a hint of laughter.

Edward smirked as Jasper glared at their older brother, practically feeling his amusement, "it's not funny. I'm hot, sweaty and my back is killing me."

Emmett chuckled and held his hands up in defence, "sorry little brother," he then smiled at them, "why don't you guys go freshen up, looks like you need it."

Jasper and Edward sighed and looked at the long stairs leading to the second floor. They both grimaced, having the small thought. The stairs were too long and far.

Emmett rolled his eyes at his brothers and went into the kitchen, he returned a few minutes with two tall glasses of apple juice. Edward and Jasper quickly leaped at him and grabbed the drinks and practically drank them in one gulp.

Edward wiped his mouth, slightly more happy, "thanks Em."

Emmett shook his head, amusement twinkling in his blue eyes and collected the glasses, "why you couldn't just get them yourself is beyond me."

Jasper smirked, "the kitchen was too far and I couldn't be asked to move."

Emmett grumbled playfully at him, "lazy git."

Jasper stuck his tongue out at Emmett's retreating back. Edward laughed, he loved these small moments they had together. They were becoming increasingly short and very few thanks to their Aunt, who always kept them busy.

"I'm going to take a quick shower," said Emmett, he had splatters of oil and grease on his clothes and reeked of petrol.

"Busy day?" mimicked Edward with a grin.

Emmett grins, "Nah just had a good workout." He flexed his arms, empathising his words with his strong muscles. That was another thing about working in a garage that Emmett enjoyed, with all the lifting, carrying and manual work it kept his body in tip top condition.

Edward rolled his eyes as he stood a little straighter; Jasper's weight was making him lean too much to the right. If he didn't know any better he would have thought his second older brother had fallen asleep standing.

Emmett ruffled Edward's hair playfully and gave Jasper a little nudge, making the tired boy grumble and swat at the older boy. Emmett chuckled and made his way upstairs to have a quick shower.

Edward sighed and looked at his brother. Jasper's eyes were closed and he had his forehead resting on Edwards shoulder. Jasper's whole body was leaning on him and he contemplated if he should guide his brother up to bed for some rest. He had to admit Jasper had tired himself out with all the work and deserved a nice long nap, but he knew their Aunt would be home in a few minutes and it would not bode well for Jasper if she found him sleeping.

Reluctantly Edward straightened up further and grabbed his brother's arm, "Jazz? Come on don't fall asleep," he said softly.

Jasper sighed, opened his eyes and straightened up, he ran his hand through his honey blond hair and gave a tired smile to his young brother, "don't worry I'm wide awake."

Edward didn't look convinced but let Jasper wake up his own way. There was no use in having to work all day and have a grumpy older brother to deal with too. He looked over at the clock and found it read half four, there Aunt should be here at any–

"BOYS," came a sudden shrill voice from the foyer.

Edward lurched forward nearly tripping over droopy Jasper, but as soon as they heard their Aunt's voice Jasper sprang to attention and tried to look awake when their Aunt walked into the living room.

"There you are," she said as she thrust the bag of now empty container at Edward who managed to catch it before they spilled out onto the floor and she rummaged through her handbag before taking out a sheet of paper and handed it to Jasper. "You boys better have not been fooling around. I don't want to go upstairs and find a mess."

Ignoring her words, Jasper took paper half-heartedly; they already knew what it was. "Where is Emmett?" she asked not looking at them and continued to rummage through her bag.

"He's having a shower," said Jasper shortly.

Aunt Giselle's eyes left the bag and she looked at them, her piecing green eyes cold and uncaring as ever, "I want that list completed today and I expect dinner to be ready on time, do you both understand?"

Edward nodded and he nudged Jasper to do the same as he looked defiantly at her. After a few seconds Jasper nodded as well reluctantly.

Aunt Giselle gave them a sickening sweet smile and leaned closer to Jasper, Edward felt his brother tense up and cringe away from her, "learn to do as your told boy and make sure you tell your brother when he comes down."

She straightened up, flicking her hair back before making her way toward the foyer and upstairs. Jasper's hands were clenched tightly, crushing the piece of paper in his hand.

"I hate her," he hissed out.

"You're not the only one," said Edward as he glared in the direction their Aunt left. He moved to his brother's side and gently unclenched his fist, releasing the paper, "come on we better get started on these," he looked over the list and sighed, most of them were indoor chores, like cleaning the tiles in the kitchen, mopping the kitchen and bathroom floor, doing the laundry, cleaning the windows and cleaning the attic, but the rest were mostly outside, mowing the lawn, painting the small shed and bench and weeding the garden.

He heard Jasper sigh disdainfully at the list as he looked at it over his shoulder, "this is going to be a long day," he commented.

Edward smiled, "don't worry I'll do everything outside," Jasper looked ready to protest, "I'll start after we have dinner, it'll get a little cooler by then."

"But..." Jasper looked at his brother and could practically feel the stubbornness leaking off him. Shaking his head a little, he smiled at Edward, "alright then."

Emmett had come down a few minutes after and they all split the list. They had managed to clean the kitchen and bathroom floors before starting on dinner. Edward and Jasper prepared cottage pie with boiled potatoes and cauliflower cheese and Emmett made a vanilla cheesecake for dessert. Of course they knew they weren't going to have any after dinner, their Aunt never let them have anything sweet, but that wouldn't stop them from taking some when she went to bed.

They all ate in silence and only talked when their Aunt asked them something or scold at them about the state of their clothes or their hair, Jasper defiant attitude, Emmett constant smiling and Edward looking too much like their mother. Edward tried his best to keep quiet, he wanted to defend his brothers, but whenever he tried to open his mouth he was either given a stern look from Emmett or a kick under the table from Jasper. Edward inwardly scowled at his brothers and glared at his Aunt.

After the meal, their Aunt ordered them to clean the dishes and finish up with their chores. They silently picked up the dishes and cleaned the table as their Aunt fiddled with her mobile phone, seemingly texting someone. She had then moved into the living room and they heard the television come on.

They delegated the list of chores to each other; Emmett would finish off mopping the bathroom, wash the dishes and clean the attic. Jasper would clean the windows and do the laundry and Edward would start on the chores outside.

Edward made his way to the shed across the spacious garden to take out the paint supplies, he noticed it was still hot outside, but at least there was a slight cool wind passing through. Few litters of clouds floated in the sky as Edward shielded his eyes to look up; they lived in Phoenix for nearly two years after moving from Austin, Texas and he was still not used to the heat. Granted Austin was hot too, but they only lived there for over six months before moving. Jasper had loved it there and was sad to leave.

Edward got the paint supplies out and started work on the shed, after half an hour of painting all four side of the thankfully small shed; he started on the roof when he had got a ladder out of the shed.

A few minutes passed before he heard a sudden tapping sound in the direction of the house. He looked at the three storey house and spotted his brother tapping on their bedroom window with a big grin on his face. Jasper waved at him with a rag in his hand when he noticed he finally got Edwards attention.

Edward laughed and waved back, the paint brush in his hand flicking droplets of brown paint everywhere.

Jasper opened the small top window and poked his head out, "Eddy I think you missed a spot," and he pointed at his young brother who gave him a put-out look.

"SHUT UP," he yelled back, he heard Jasper laugh and he grumbled as he continued to finish off painting the roof. He really had to roll his eyes at his brother, "he poked his head out just to tell me that."

"WHAT?" Edward looked back up to see his brother still watching him with a grin.

"GET LOST," he hollered back, the only response he got was more laughter and the closing of the window.

After he finished off the third coat on the shed, painted the white bench twice, finished weeding the rose bushes and mowed the back and front lawn, the sun was low in the sky and he finally trudged his way back indoors. He stunk of sweat, grass and paint and he couldn't wait to have a nice long shower, scratch that he was going to have a nice long bath.

His brothers should be finishing off with their chores too, he could hear Emmett sneezing and grumbling about the dust upstairs and his Aunt lecturing Jasper about the laundry. He just hoped Jasper didn't lose his temper. From the three of them Jasper could easily lose his temper, especially if it involved anything against his family, minus their Aunt Giselle of course, anyone could say anything about her and he wouldn't care.

He was just about to go upstairs when he heard a sound from the kitchen that made him stop dead cold and terror for his brother to slowly wash over him. It was a sound all three brothers were very familiar with.

_SLAP_

"I DIDN'T KNOW," came his brother's angry and weary voice.

Edward felt his heart skip a beat and Emmett came rushing down the stairs. It seemed he had heard it too.

"Ed?" he asked with concern, placing a hand on his young brother's shoulder.

Edward shook his head; he was alright, but not – "Jasper."

As soon as the name left his mouth, Jasper's body came crashing through the kitchen door and onto the hallway floor.

"JASPER," Emmett and Edward both yelled in alarm and moved to help their brother.

"Stay right there," they reluctantly obeyed the livid voice. There Aunt stood at the kitchen doorway, her expression twisted in a menacing scowl and her cold green eyes glared at them before settling on Jasper, who was glaring right back at her, a hand on his red cheek.

"Can't you do anything right?" she asked Jasper in a sickly calm tone as she walked up to his side and looked down at him. Jasper stayed on the floor, his eyes trailing her as he scouted away.

"I didn't know that was going to happen," said Jasper, flinching slightly at the pain in his cheek.

"You didn't? Am I supposed to believe that boy?" she held up a small t-shirt she was holding and shoved it in Jasper face. Emmett and Edward looked at the oddly colour shirt. It was obviously a green coloured t-shirt, but it had large blotches of red splattered throughout the back and front of the small shirt.

"How was I supposed to know the colour was going to come off? All the clothes in the laundry are yours. It's not like I did it on purpose," Jasper growled out and he sat up.

All this was over a stupid t-shirt getting colour on it? Edward watched his Aunt in disbelief; she slapped his brother twice for something he didn't do intentionally. She was getting crazier and crazier by the day. He let out a growl and made to advance to defend his brother. But a hand came out and stopped him; he looked at his older brother to find him watching the scene in equal anger and frustration.

"Em?"

Emmett looked at Edward and shook his head and moved closer to his fallen brother. Edward knew why Emmett stopped him, he didn't want him getting hurt too and they knew Aunt Giselle wouldn't lay a finger on Emmett now that he was old enough to leave.

"It was an accident Aunt Giselle, it isn't even Jasper's fault and you can't blame it for it," said Emmett in a firm voice, half reasoning.

Their Aunt swirled and looked at her oldest nephew, "you stay out of this boy. This doesn't concern you."

Emmett growled, "of course this concerns me that is my brother you just slapped and are accusing. Why can't you be more careful with the clothes you buy? How was he supposed to know it releases colour?"

"You complete selfish ingrates," she hissed out and with a swift movement she placed her high heeled shoe on Jaspers left shoulder and pushed him completely to the floor. Jasper gave a startled and pained filled gasp as his head hit the hard floor and the heel dug into his shoulder.

Edward and Emmett gasp in shock and both moved forward to shove their Aunt off their brother, but she dug her heel further into his shoulder and Jasper cried out. Both brothers stopped and watched in anger as there Aunt lifted the pressure off slightly.

"I give you a roof over your heads, food to eat, a bed to sleep in, I have to take you everywhere I go until that brat turns of age," she pointed accusingly at Edward, "and you have the nerve to question me. I never asked for you ungrateful beasts and I will not be spoken to like that."

It was the usual speech she gave them, of course there was more but they were in no hurry to hear it. Edward just wanted his Aunt to get lost so he could help his brother. He saw Emmett shaking angrily at his Aunt; he knew his older brother hated this as much as he did.

"I want an apology from you and you," she turned back to Jasper who was trying to get her shoe off his shoulder while glaring up at her, "for ruining my favourite t-shirt."

"I'm not apologising for something that wasn't my fault," said Jasper, a second later he gave a muffled cry as she dug her heel again. Even with him trying to shove her off, he was too tired and didn't have the energy.

"Apologise," she turned her head to Emmett.

Jasper shook his head, "no." Edward bit his lower lip as he watched helplessly. Emmett hands were clenched in a tight fist and his eyes were now only on his brother.

Aunt Giselle glared at Emmett and pressed her foot down, Jasper cried out again and his left arm fell to his side as he flinched at the pain.

"Alright fine," said Emmett desperately, "I'm sorry. Please, I'm sorry."

Aunt Giselle smirked at him, making Edwards blood boil in anger. She was enjoying this, the wretched hag. She turned to Jasper who was gasping; his eyes closed "Now you."

Jasper shook his head. The heel dug further.

"JASPER," shouted Edward as Jasper cried out and shook, he could not watch his brother suffer like that.

"Jasper please," encouraged Emmett helplessly.

Jasper opened his eyes and saw his Aunt looking down at him, he glared at her. "I'm… I'm sorry."

The bronze haired woman smirked pleasantly, "are you going to ruin my clothes again?"

Jasper shook his head, "no I won't."

She lifted her foot off his shoulder and straightened up, "good, you best not let it happen again."

She threw her shirt in the laundry basket near the kitchen door and looked at her other two nephews, "I'm going out. Hurry up and finish off your chores. You better not be downstairs when I came back."

Edward and Emmett didn't respond, ignoring her as they quickly made their way to Jasper who sat up slowly, clutching his left shoulder with his right hand.

Aunt Giselle went upstairs, acting as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened, humming a pleasant tune.

"Jazz?" asked Emmett, his tone lased with concern and guilt, "how much does it hurt?"

Jasper shook his head, cringing as they helped him to the kitchen. They made him sit on the tall stool at the island.

Edward quickly got out the first aid kit and a pack of ice from the freezer and gave it to Jasper who had taken unbuttoned his shirt revealing his left shoulder. Edward grimaced at the bruise, it wasn't very big, but they could easily tell where the heel dug in as the skin was torn off, but not deep enough to bleed. The surrounding skin was bright red and swollen, Jasper hissed as he placed the ice pack over the wound, but sighed in relief after a few minutes, relaxing on the island as the coldness helped numb the pain.

Emmett had emptied the laundry and took the clothes upstairs. Edward and Jasper heard the front door close and Emmett walked back into the kitchen, making a direct beeline to his brothers.

"She's gone," he informed them, and gently moved the ice pack from Jasper's shoulder, "the swellings gone down a little. But I'll clean it up and bandage it just to be on the safe side."

Jasper nodded, but didn't say anything. He sat up straight, letting his big brother inspect and clean the wound. Jasper leaned into Edward who stood on his right side; he could tell his brother was tired as he practically let his full weight fall onto him. But Edward didn't mind, he would be there to comfort and support his brothers like they did for him.

Emmett finished off placing the bandage on the wound and packed everything away. He went to the sink, took a glass and filled it with cold water for Jasper.

"Here drink this," he instructed and Jasper took the glass and drank the water down. "Is it still hurting?"

Jasper nodded, "yes, but not as much as before." Emmett, Jasper and Edward never lied to each other. No matter what it was about they were truthful to no other, but to each other. There was no point hiding anything because they always knew when the other had something on his mind or was hiding something. And they knew if they were hurting or in any pain, it will only hurt the others if they hide it and didn't tell.

"Maybe you should take some painkiller," said Edward, he looked at his older brother, "do we have any left?"

Emmett nodded, "we should. Hold on." He quickly went to one of the cabinets on the far side of the kitchen and refilled Jaspers glass. "Here you go," he handed the painkiller tablets to Jasper and placed the glass in front of him.

Jasper frowned; he didn't want to take them. He never liked taking tablets. "Do I have too?"

Edward smiled at Jasper's pouting face as Emmett gave him a stern look, "don't be a stubborn git and just take it bro."

Jasper pout deepened, but he sighed after a second and took the medicine, washing it down with the water. "You happy?" he said after he finished.

Emmett grinned, "Loads." He took the glass and walked to the sink intending to wash it. Jasper stuck his tongue out at him and Edward laughed.

A few minutes of silence passed and Jasper sighed again, "just another normal day."

His brothers looked at him solemnly and nodded in agreement.

"Just another normal day," repeated Edward in a whisper, he couldn't help but think this was sad, to expect the next day to be filled with mundane chores, neglect and fights with their Aunt.

The only time they enjoyed the day was when they were out of the house and away from here, but they were becoming few and short. The need to leave was becoming stronger and stronger by each passing day, but Edward knew his Aunt was right about one thing, they couldn't truly be rid of her or her them until he turned of age and the law wouldn't keep bring them back to her.

He knew there was something more that made their Aunt put up with them. Why else would she call the authorities to find them and bring them back and make up some sob story to hide any suspicion after the many attempts of escape they made in the past. But for the life of him he hadn't figured it out yet.

He just couldn't wait until he turned eighteen and they could finally leave this place.

"Come on guys, lets head upstairs," Emmett's voice broke him out of his thoughts and he looked down at Jasper and grinned. Jasper had fallen asleep on his shoulder. Edward looked up at the clock and it was nearly ten o'clock, he turned his head back to Emmett.

His older brother was grinning as well, "Come on Ed."

They managed to get Jasper onto Emmett's back and both younger and older brothers had to smile when their middle brother circled his arms around his brother's shoulder and snuggled into his neck.

Edward turned off the kitchen light and followed Emmett and Jasper upstairs.

* * *

**(A/N) That's the end of the first chapter of my first twilight story. Pretty long isn't it for a first chapter _(grins sheepishly)_ had a lot to fit in, but I hope you enjoyed it. Please let me know what you think, like always constructive criticism and helpful advice is always appreciated and I apologise for any spelling or grammar mistakes.**

**I hope you like the brotherly love between the Cullen Brothers; they've been through a lot so they will be really close. The next chapter will explain about Carlisle and Esme absence and the girls will come up in further chapters **_**(smiles)**_**.**

**Update news and info about this story as it progresses will be posted on my profile under My Stories - Update News, so keep a look out **_**(grins)**_**.**

**Now please review and let me know what you think **_**(smiles and points down to the review box)**_**. You know what to do.**


	2. Disastrously Hot

**Okay... Not much love for the Cullen Brothers **_**(glances at a door behind her)**_** don't worry I won't tell, but thank you to those who did review **_**(smiles)**_** it was much appreciated and I'm glad you're enjoying the story.  
**

**Here chapter two. Enjoy... **

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**Disclaimer: I do NOT own anything of the Twilight saga, that's ALL****Stephenie Meyer.**

* * *

Time went on, two months passed and the routine stayed as constant as ever.

The wound on Jaspers shoulder healed completely after two weeks. Edward and Emmett didn't let him do too much; telling him the less he did the faster it'll heal.

Jasper hadn't been at all too happy about it and grumbled and grimaced each time his brothers would walk into their bedroom with frowns on their faces or anger in their eyes. Aunt Giselle worked both the oldest and youngest to their limits, there were times were they couldn't even stay awake and ended up stumbling or falling face first into thing.

The school they were currently attending was Washington High School and their classes kept them busy, as well as their classmates. They had a few friends, but all of them were kept at arms length, almost like acquaintances. All three of them decided not to make any close friends, there was no point. They had to keep moving and attending different schools nearly each year and the hassle they recieved at home tired them out too much for them to keep track of any friends they'd have.

In most schools they had attended, they never made much friends and that was mostly due to their closeness as brothers. All three brothers did everything together, they went to school together, had lunch together, seek each other out at breaks, went home together and never was one seen without the others. It made them unapprachable in some ways and get them teased or ridiculed.

They never cared much for what others thought about them, but that still never stopped them from getting into fights with other school boys, be it by defending each other or by stopping someone from hurting their brothers. Mostly if anyone saw Emmett come at them they would make a mad dash for it or start mumbling and stuttering apologies. Emmett just had that built that screamed huge muscular angry jock coming at you and his protectiveness of his younger brothers was well known.

This sort of attitude also got the female population in their schools interested. They had all dated at some point. Emmett had the most number of dates than Jasper and Edward combined. Jasper and Edward never much cared for dating; they knew they were hot topics in school whenever they arrived, either it be in the beginning of the year or halfway into the semesters.

Edward could practically hear what type of thoughts they were having about him, even by looking at their expressions he knew what they wanted from him and that made him cringe away. Jasper felt the same way as his younger brother; he could practically feel their emotions getting the better of them whenever he was in their line of sight. He knew they wanted nothing more than to just devour him or just use him to get popular and nothing else. That didn't appeal to him at all.

Emmett on the other hand, relished in their attention, he was quite the flirt and knew just what the ladies wanted. But no relationship lasted more than two to three weeks with him and he usually never cared for them. Some of the girls he dated had been completely vain and self-centred, mostly all of them had a problem with the closeness he had with his brothers. They always accused him of caring more and spending more time with his brothers than he did with them and that was where Emmett drew the line.

If a girl could not accept the care and love he had for his brothers and thought of them as nuisances and burdens on him than he had no problem in dumping them right then and there and turning into the cold and angry protective brother he was well known for. That sort of attitude reminded him so much of their Aunt and he didn't wish to be in the presence of a person who thought and treated people the same way she did. One of her was quite enough.

The youngest two were glad when the school year ended and summer vacation finally started. The only downside was the weather as each day was as hot and windless as ever. Emmett had cheered them up when he bought a stash of frozen Ice Pops and a big tub of Cookie Dough ice cream. He knew he couldn't keep it in their freezer so he cleverly had it hidden at his work place. His boss didn't mind, Emmett was one of his best workers and he always praised his knowledge in cars and mechanics. Emmett's boss was the only one who knew about their Aunt's treatment toward them.

It was another hot day and Edward sighed silently with a sniff as he watched his eldest brother walk down the street to work. The garage was getting a lot of jobs lately and they needed as many hands to help as they could. His brother didn't mind of course, Emmett knew they needed the money.

Edward knew Emmett was going to stay till late and it was only nine in the morning. He sniffed again and turned back into the house and walking into the kitchen. Jasper was just finishing off cleaning the dishes. A note was already sitting on the countertop and Edward reluctantly picked it up, wiping his nose with the tissue he was holding.

He ended up with a blasted cold when a pair of twins sneezed on him in the book store. They had apologised and Edward told them not to worry about it before quickly running to the washroom to wash his face, hoping against hope that he wouldn't get ill.

But it was useless, it would have been fine; he had only started sneezing a little and had a sore throat, but his Aunt had put him on garden and attic duty and with the blazing sun, his headache rose, his body ached and he couldn't stop coughing and sneezing in the dusty attic, which aggravated his throat even further.

It didn't help that his immune system wasn't up to notch yet and he quickly developed a fever over the night. He knew he had gotten worse when he had groggily opened his fever filled eyes to see concerned Jasper hovering over him, telling him he had overslept. Edward had a hard time getting out of bed, but managed to get downstairs before Aunt Giselle came down. Emmett and Jasper didn't let him do any work, just telling him to relax. He didn't agree but the stuffed nose, headache and fever told him otherwise. He had fallen asleep on the couch for most of the morning and afternoon, but Emmett had woke him up before their Aunt arrived and they quickly prepared supper.

Edward didn't let on he was sick, he knew his Aunt wouldn't care so he felt no need in telling or showing her. Jasper made sure he took some cough syrup and pain killers before forcing him to go to bed early. That had been four days ago and he still had a stuffy nose, one of his ears hurt and his throat still ached, but his fever had gone down and he didn't feel as unwell as he had been before. He was sure today was going to be a quiet day and was glad for it.

Bringing his attention back to the note; Edward quickly skimmed through the list. Most of it was kitchen duty and making sure everything was spotless. Edward grimaced, he knew what that meant.

"Guess you know who'll be coming," said Jasper with a small smile as he noticed Edward's expression.

"She's actually bringing the guy here? Where he can see us?" said Edward sceptically with a sniff.

"Well of course we won't be anywhere near them. God knows we don't want a repeat of last time." Edward and Jasper both grimaced at the memory. Last time their Aunt brought a guy over; it got too intense and intimate too fast. They had no success in blocking out the sounds they were making nearly all night and had to resort to playing one of Edward's CDs to block out the sounds.

Edward shivered; Jasper gave him a concerned look thinking he was cold, but Edward just smiled reassuringly at his brother and said "don't remind me of that, I'm trying to permanently forget about it."

Jasper grinned, still looking unsure but decided not to pursue the topic, "Well at least we can use your new CDs as a way of distraction."

Edwards nodded and smiled brightly as he remembered his birthday, his mood becoming slightly better at the happy memory. Of course their Aunt didn't care at all for their birthdays and just kept to ignoring them, which was fine with them. Edward didn't want her to find out about the vanilla with chocolate covered ice cream cake his brothers got him for his birthday and the three brand new music albums currently stashed under his pillowcase. Emmett had got him the latest in rock music and Jasper –much to his nickname – made him a disc of jazz and classic music of all his favourite artists.

He had immediately put the CDs in the CD player and all three of them stayed in their room, just listening and singing along while trying to finish their homework. It was the best day ever, he spend it all with his brothers, got to hear his favourite music and was even able to play a few songs from the piano with Emmett and Jasper playing their guitars when Aunt Giselle went out on a date for the whole day. It wasn't much, but he didn't care. It wasn't often they got to just goof off for a day and relax, he cherished those days most.

"We should have our little concerts more often. I miss them," Edward said his voice slightly cracking as Jasper took the list from him and looked it over.

His brother smiled at him and placed a hand on Edward's forehead to check his temperature while reading the list, "I know, I miss them too. I couldn't believe we still remembered those songs so well."

Edward chuckled, he hated it when his brothers fussed over him, but didn't rebuke them, "Well we have been playing and singing them for a long time."

Like their mother before them, all three brothers had the gift of a beautiful voice. Their mother always praised them of their harmonious voices whenever they sang together and every Christmas they would go out singing Christmas carols with neighbours and friends. It used to be a lot of fun.

Jasper nodded, smiling at the memories before ruffling Edwards hair playfully, satisfied that his temperature was not rising, "Come on let's get started on the list and then we'll head over to the book store. Unless you want to stay home and rest, I think some more sleep will do you some good," encouraged Jasper, worry clouding his brown eyes.

Edward gave him a look, no chance was he staying home. They had made him rest and stay in bed for the past four days and he was already sick of it. "Nope, I'm coming with," he grinned as Jasper sighed and shook his head, "what should we start on first?" he said cheerfully, his voice sounded weird with his blocked nose and he grimaced.

Jasper laughed at his expression. "Stop being so cute Eddy."

Edward scowled his brother, "I'm not cute and don't call me Eddy. It's _Edward_."

"Whatever you say Eddy," Edward pouted and cuffed his brother over the head.

"Hey," said Jasper and punched him lightly on shoulder to retaliate.

"You started it," Edward grinned and punched him straight back.

"Why you little—" and Jasper launched onto his brother, trapping him into a not too tight headlock.

Edward struggled for a few minutes before broking free and then both brothers tussled and chased after each other around the house, releasing some bent up energy and enjoying what they hadn't got the chance to do in so long. It was after they finished, wrestling playfully on the floor and were now on their way to the book store did Edward realise that they had grown up very quickly. Ever since they moved in with their mother's sister, they could no longer enjoy their childhood like they used to and were forced to mature faster than they should have.

* * *

The day at the book store was quiet during the morning but they knew it was going to get busy in the afternoon. There weren't any aggravated or frantic college students coming in to search for books or too many children who liked to run around the store throwing books all over the place. Most that came during the morning were just browsing around and only bought a few books, which Edward was grateful for, the heat around him was giving him a headache and he was coughing and sneezing into his tissue, trying to be discreet so Jasper wouldn't get too worried.

Edward helped Jasper with the display in the middle of the store to showcase the arrival of a new sequel book that they stacked up on a purple cloth covered table. It was really popular and a lot of people had already put reservation on some of the copies already. Edward guessed there was just something about vampires in the book that appealed to everyone when Jasper explained the storyline to him.

The rest of the afternoon passed by quickly and there were no more books left on the table. They sold out as quickly as they came. Edward had a hard time keeping his voice normal as it had cracked a few times when he talked, which landed him into an annoyed situation for a while with no help from his brother, who was laughing away behind the counter.

It was nearing six o'clock when the two brothers finally hurried their way back to the house. Edward was glaring at his brother, sniffing a little. He could sense Jasper was making fun out of him over the same thing and it was ticking him off. Why couldn't he quit it, it was both embarrassing and annoying.

"Will you stop that," he demanded when they arrived at the front door and went in.

"Stop what?" asked Jasper with a smirk.

"That face that you've got on, it's getting annoying. You're still thinking about it," he grumbled as they made their way to the kitchen and he picked up the list, angrily looking it over.

Jasper chuckled and Edward knew he could feel his annoyance coming off him in waves.

"Hey it's not my fault she said your voice sounded cute all crackly like that," defended Jasper with laughter in his eyes.

Edward blushed slightly, glaring at his brother, "it's not funny." His voice cracked again at the last word and his blush deepened as Jasper laughed.

"I'll have to disagree little brother," countered Jasper as he plucked the note out of Edward's hand and placed it back on the island. "Your face was hilarious."

Edward growled, not trusting himself to talk and was about to punch his brother when a voice interrupted them.

"What was hilarious?" ask Emmett as he came into the kitchen with a smile.

"Nothing," said Edward quickly.

"Eddy got an admirer today," said Jasper with a grin.

Emmett grinned as well and slung an arm over Edward's shoulder, giving him an approving look. Edward groaned.

"Well done little bro, just like a Cullen. So what happened?" he asked excitedly.

"Nothing happened," Edward defended quickly.

"Just a girl who said Eddy here was so cute and handsome and reminded her of a fictional book character," said Jasper with a grin.

"It doesn't mean anything," cried Edward with a blush.

"She couldn't stop staring at him."

"Did she follow him around?" asked Emmett amused.

"No she didn't," inputted Edward, trying to struggle out of his older brother's hold.

"Yep she did. She kept on giggling and sighing whenever he did something and she kept commenting on his looks."

"She was talking about the book character. We're nothing alike."

"She thought his voice was all cute and sexy and asked if he had an accent."

"Oh really?" Emmett wiggled his eyebrows teasingly at his brother and Edward resisted the urge to throttle both his brothers.

"I told her I was sick."

"Was she cute?"

"Of course," said Jasper with a smirk, "cute little thirteen years old I ever met."

"Ooo Eddy, going for the younger ladies these days is we."

"NO. She just kept comparing me to that fictional character," he sounded aggravated, his voice cracking.

Emmett grinned, "Bet she thought her hero in shining armour was finally real."

"Actually it was a vampire book," added Jasper calmly, the smirk still in place.

Emmett laughed and Edward growled at him, "A hero with shiny fangs then. How'd you lose her? You didn't bite her or something," he joked.

"She left after he hid in the history of mechanics and business section for nearly an hour. Mrs Appleton saw the whole thing too," Jasper chuckled as Edward face turned bright red, "she told him he was very sweet and adorable for playing along with the little girl like that."

Edward elbowed Emmett in the stomach, successfully freeing himself. "Mrs Appleton knew what was going on; she was just too polite to tease me. Unlike some people," said Edward directing a glare at Jasper.

Jasper only grinned as Emmett laughed, "You need a girlfriend Eddy. She'll be able to keep all the other ladies at bay."

Edward made a face and opened his mouth to say something, but a sudden strong tickle in his throat stopped him and he started coughing. He grabbed onto the island and one hand came up to his mouth as he coughed. He felt his older brothers' move to his side, one patting his back while the other gripped him by his arm, steadying him.

He stopped after a few minutes, his throat hurting like hell and he swallowed a few times. He moved his hand away and straightened up. The arm was still gripping him and he looked to see Jasper smiling at him with concern. Edward gave a small smile back, "I'm okay," his voice came out raspy and hoarse and he grimaced as Jasper frowned.

"Here," a glass of water was placed in front of him and he quickly took it, drinking it down. The cold water felt good down his throat and he sighed when he finished, rubbing his face.

He passed the glass back to Emmett, "I hate having a cold."

"Well you had it enough times, you should be used to it," joked Emmett, "you sit Ed, I'll make you some chicken noodle soup."

"But the list?" he rasped out as Jasper forced him to take a seat on the high stool.

"Most of its just cooking Ed, we can get it done. You just eat you're chicken soup when it's done," said Jasper, ruffling his younger brother's bronze hair before he started getting everything ready.

The rest of the evening was spent with Edward trying to finish his chicken noodle soup while watching his brothers prepare the meal for their Aunt. He had tried to help, but they didn't let him do much and just redirected him to the piano and told him to play something.

He grumbled about it for a while until his fingers touched the keys and he completely immersed himself into the music he was playing. He played a few songs that he and his brother singed along to. He had to laugh as his brothers sang in the kitchen, changing their tone of voices from high pitched to really low and he joined them with his own voice. He loved singing with his brothers, it reminded him of a time they didn't live with their Aunt and were surrounded with family that loved them.

His father didn't have much of a singing voice, but that never stopped him when they went out Christmas carolling or singing songs in family gatherings. His mother family practically demanded it and he remembered how happy everyone was when they were all together.

He especially remembered his Uncle Carlisle and Aunt Esme; he missed them a lot and wished he could see them soon. Carlisle Cullen was a very successful doctor, he would always play with him and his brothers, taking them out whenever he was visiting, treating them and always helping them with any problems they had. He remembered his uncle as a compassionate and kind man; he could always tell by just looking at someone if they were upset or hurt, there wasn't much they could hide from him.

Even when they tried to throw him a surprise birthday party, he remembered Carlisle had a knowing grin on his face the whole time or the time Jasper was bullied one time at the park and Emmett got hurt in a fight defending Jasper, they had come home when Carlisle and Esme were visiting and he remembered he was sitting on Esme's lap when he saw his brothers walk in and quickly made their way upstairs. Edward had followed them and they told him what happened. Carlisle had come up to call them down and with one look he knew Jasper was upset and Emmett was hurt. He calmed Emmett's temper, treated his bruises and comforted Jasper. His uncle always knew what to say and do to make them feel better and he missed him.

Their Aunt Esme was no less kind or compassionate like their uncle, but she cared and loved them, treating them like they were her own sons, giving them loving kisses and greeting them with hugs. He loved it when his mother and Esme would cook together; they usually let him help make chocolate chip cookies and lick the spoon later. He knew his Aunt Esme could never have children of her own and that was why she mothered them as much as their own mother. Elizabeth and Esme acted more like sisters than his mum did with her own sister.

An ache rose in his chest as he remembered his other Aunt and only Uncle. How he wished he could see them, he didn't know where they were, but he has always hoped they would bump into them somehow, someway, but it wasn't to be, especially when they've been moving around so much.

A hand rested on his shoulder and he jumped, he didn't notice anyone come in.

"You alright there bro?" asked Emmett with a sad smile.

"Yeah," he nodded, a little confused with the concern Emmett was showing and then he realised the music he was playing. He didn't realise he had started to play something else while day dreaming, but he recognised it as a piece his mother taught him. One she had made whenever she longed for something. He had loved the way it sounded; it was a light, slow and melodious tune and all three brothers knew it well.

"We miss them too," Emmett said softly and Edward smile lightly up at him and sniffed, "come on, let's eat. Aunt Giselle and her boyfriend will be back in a few, we'd best be upstairs when they do."

Edward looked at the time and it was nearly ten o'clock, how had time passed by so quickly without him noticing. Nevertheless he got up, closed the cover over the keys and followed Emmett into the dining room.

* * *

The pub was crowded and nosy, it smelled of alcohol and smoke, and it was hot, even with the windows open it did nothing for the heat. But she didn't care; she knew she'll be in a much nicer and fancier place later and didn't care much for what was going on around her.

It was ten o'clock and Giselle had been in the pub for nearly two hours. She had finished work late, trying to finish all that damn paper work for her boss. She hated it all, but the office job was the only one she could get at the moment. The pay was good, she couldn't fault that, but she preferred something different.

Unlike her family she did not go into anything musical, she had no talent for it. She had been a business major and also dabbled in hair and beauty. But at the moment she could not find a desirable job and or start up her own hair and beauty salon. She needed money for that and with every different job she had been saving up.

But of course with the way she was spending her money with shopping, keeping track with the latest fashion and moving to a different location to suit her job, she was slowly growing penniless. Even her inheritance was almost gone, not enough to help her with her pursuit.

Giselle sighed as she looked around the pub; it was filled with couples and groups of men and women. The bar at the far end was full and she let her eyes roam over the men working behind the counter. They were quite will built and handsome, well her Justin was just as handsome and desirable. Beside her penniless pockets, she knew her man was wrapped around her finger. How could he not be, she knew she was beautiful, attractive, everywhere she went she always felt men gaze at her in appreciation and women in jealousy. She was what every man desired, she was perfect. It took her a long time to gain this image and she was definitely milking it.

But what were not perfect were the three ruffians she was in charge of. All three brats were dumped on her when her perfect sister and her husband kicked the bucket. She had no choice but to take them in and she hated every minute she was with them. They were nothing but a painful reminder of how perfect they are and how perfect her sister was in her life.

Giselle scowled and took a sip of her drink as she remembered her sister, the favourite in the family. She knew her parents looked at her as the favourite, how could she not be, being smart, beautiful and oh so talented with the family trade.

Giselle envied Elizabeth's natural beauty and talent; she got everything without even asking for it, perfect grades, perfect graduation and perfect job, while Giselle had to work for it all. Her parents even dotted on her, she had been just so perfect that Giselle hated staying anywhere near her without being spiteful.

And then she went and meet Edward Cullen Senior, the man was handsome and successful. She couldn't believe her sister had bagged a man like that, she had tried to sway him to her, but everything she did was for not, he only had eyes for her perfect and ungrateful sister. She had found love while Giselle had not and then the three brats were born.

She did not come visit them, always making up excuses and travelling so much that they wouldn't get a chance to contact her. The only time she was near her was at their parent's funerals and at her own. She could not avoid it, her darted brother-in-law's brother, Carlisle Cullen, yet another perfect man she could not claim, found her and informed her of her sister's death and she had no choice but to attend.

And then the custody of the brats went to her. For ten years she put up with them and she only needed one to get what she wanted. Giselle had read her sisters and husband's will and she had a chat with her own lawyer. She just needed one of those freaks to sign one sheet of paper for her too have all of their inheritance, it was rightfully hers after all. She was the eldest; everything that her parents left behind belonged to her.

If it wasn't for that wretched Edward Cullen Senior, she could have easily gotten to the inheritance and dumped the three brats in an orphanage. She cared little for her three nephews, especially for the youngest. Her youngest nephew looked so much like her sister, even having the same green expressive eyes as her. She loved it when she saw the fear and terror in those eyes whenever she saw him. She enjoyed it, she felt superior whenever she saw the helplessness in all three brothers eyes. That was how she wanted her own sister to look at her, to have felt jealously, be feel unworthy and unwanted, exactly like how she used to feel.

Giselle looked at her phone and noticed that another hour has already passed, her annoyance and frustration for her nephews quickly shifted to her boyfriend. Ugh men can be so useless; she already gave him about twenty text messages and rang him ten times. Normally she always asked where he was and what he was doing and he would reply back, keeping it short and simple. But he hadn't returned her calls or replied back to her messages.

Her frustration grew as another hour passed by as she entertained herself by flirting with the pub male employees and ignored the cat calls directed towards her. She continued to contact him, but he wasn't answering.

Oh when she got her hands on him, he was so going to regret making her wait for so long. How dare he? It was nearing past one when she was no longer entertained and she called Justin again, by the third call he picked up.

"What?" came a gruff voice from the other line.

Giselle's eyes narrowed and she suppressed a growl, "where are you? You were supposed to meet me three hours ago."

"Ah Giselle, sorry babe but I don't think this is working out," Justin's tone came out emotionless.

"What? What do you mean?" she concentrated on his voice, ignoring the noise around her.

"You know what I mean. I'm just not feeling it with you anymore Giselle. I'm breaking up with you."

"WHAT?" she shrieked out, "you can't break up with me."

"I just have. You're just too controlling and bossy Giselle, a man can just take so much. I don't want to hang around a chick like that. Sorry babe but I'm ended this."

"But you can't. Now you listen here you –" but he cut her off by disconnecting. She gave out a growl and quickly called him again, but it wouldn't connect. She guessed he turned his phone off completely.

Giselle sat in the chair fuming as she gazed at her phone. One minute she was thinking about taking him to her house for a special night and now she was sitting alone, past midnights thinking of throttling him. How dare he break up with her, she was not controlling or bossy. Ugh, the nerve of that man. She tried calling him again and again but it still wouldn't connect.

Anger soon turned into despair as she kept trying. This can't be happening to her, what did she do wrong? What did she do to deserve this? This can't be her fault. Did he find out something about her that he didn't agree with? This was the first time she was going to take him to her house, she was dressed up beautiful and pretty just for him, she had made so much effort with herself and he just broke up with her.

Despair quickly turned to frustration. The three hours wait should have clued her in, Justin just left her here all alone in a pub in the middle of the night. Did he even care? She clutched her phone tightly in her hand. _"I was going to take him to my house, I was being so generous. He was so lucky to have me and now he just... dumped me. Why would he? How could he?"_

She thought about what was awaiting for her at home, she had everything prepared; she even made sure to list all of his favourite food. Her nephews would have everything read– Giselle's eyes widened.

Her Nephews.

Did he find out about them? Did Justin, like so many others, couldn't stand to be with a woman who had children to take care of? That's it. That had to be it. It couldn't have been her fault. It was those brats. Giselle's eyes narrowed, her sister's sons.

Giselle took a few minutes to compose herself and she looked up, everyone in the pub was still enjoying their time, the numbers diminished, but it was still noisy. Her gaze fell on the bar and she saw a few seats empty.

She sighed, well what better way to spend the rest of the night than to drown her sorrows in alcohol.

* * *

It wasn't until four in the morning did Giselle stumped into the foyer of her house; it was a miracle she even made it home. One of the bartenders at the pub became concerned with the amount of alcohol she had consumed and to be safe he had called a cab for her to take her home. Giselle didn't care and told them do whatever they wanted, her recent breakup consuming her mind.

Giselle stumped and tripped over to the white couch. It was still dark, but she knew dawn will slowly start to creep up soon as she looked out the window. She grimaced at the thought of the natural warm light and looked away, her eyes settling on the large black instrument sitting in the corner.

Her grimace worsened and she glared at the piano. It was gleaming from the street lights, showing off how well kept, polished and dust-free it was. Of everything in her house she wished she could get rid of that thing.

It brought nothing but memories of jealousy and how talentless she was. Her wretched sister favourite piano, Giselle remembered all the time she made their mother sit with her and play. Never did their mother have time for her; no she was always with Elizabeth, not caring that another daughter sought out for her attention.

Giselle slowly stood up, her befuddled mind grasping at the hated memories. It was all her dead sister's fault she was like this; she took all the skill and talent and left Giselle with nothing. She had been the favourite one, the special one while Giselle was nothing.

"_You think you're so special,"_ she thought as she continues to glare at the piano, almost seeing her sister sitting there playing with that god forsaken smile on her beautiful face, taunting her.

"I'll show you," her hands clenched in a tight fist, she wanted to break something, to whip that smile off her sisters face, to cause her pain.

Giselle turned abruptly around almost tripping and made her way into the kitchen. She leaned on the island, ignoring the food spread out upon it and took a moment for the dizziness to settle.

She straightened up after a while and walked to the far end of the kitchen. She opened the lowest draw and a feral grin spread across her face as she found what she was looking for.

She let out a wild giggle as she picked up the heavy tool and weighed it in her hands. "_This will do just fine, let's see how long you'll keep smiling sister,"_ she thought and she turned around and tore her way back into the living room, walking steadfast to the piano.

It was gleamed and shined innocently at her and she stood right in front of it. Her glazed eyes gazing down at the engraved signatures on the keys cover. Her sister writing as elegant and beautiful as always etched onto the wood.

She brought the hammer up and turned it so the solid metal claw was facing the writing and with the same feral grin she swiftly dug and scraped the hammer over the signatures, erasing them and craving a misshaped trail over it. She continued until she couldn't see the writing anymore and she relaxed and sighed.

"_Well that felt better than I thought," _Giselle alcohol consumed grin turned to the rest of the piano and she slowly gripped the top large lid and bought it up. She gazed down at all the strings and material making the magnificent instrument and she raised the hammer.

"Let me silence you for good."

* * *

**(A/N) Well chapter two is done and done, How do you think Edward is going to react? Will he confront Giselle? and what about Emmett and Jasper?**

**Sorry if there were any spelling/grammar mistakes and please let me know what you think. Did you love it? Hate it? Like it? You gotta let me know guys... or... or I'll sick one of the Cullen brothers on you, yep that's what I'll do... or maybe Rosalie **_**(grins sheepishly and hears noises behind the door).**_

**Ramadan Mubarak to those who are keeping a fast, hope it's going well and may this month be successful to you and your families **_**(smiles).**_

**Now don't be mean, please review. You know what to do **_**(points down to review box).**_


	3. Final Explosion

_**(Looks at review chart and pouts)**_** Aww come on guys one more review and it could have been 10 reviews altogether, I wanted an even number. **_**(Sighs, but then grins)**_** well anyways thank you to those who reviewed, you guys are the best and I'm so glad you're enjoying the story.**

**Well this chapter gets a little heated, does contain slight language... Well actually it only has two swear words, but skip em if you like **_**(grins)**_**. **

**WARNING: Chapter contain abuse; please do not read if you don't feel comfortable about it.**

**Enjoy...**

* * *

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own anything of the Twilight saga, that's ALL****Stephenie Meyer.**

* * *

Edward buried his face into his pillow and tried to fall back to sleep, but the head ache he had since yesterday was still present and he groaned as it throbbed. He swallowed and felt his throat was still scratchy and raw. A small cough escaped his mouth as he turned his head to the far side of his pillow where it was still cool.

He sighed as he pressed his forehead into the pillow and relaxed. He knew the sun was already up as he could feel the heat rise in the room. He could also feel both his brothers were still in bed. Jasper's arm was lying across his back and Emmett's strong back was pressed against his feet.

Edward was sleeping on his stomach and he groaned again when the pillow heated up underneath his face and he knew he couldn't move anywhere else because Jasper was occupying the rest of the pillow.

Deciding he needed to get up and have some pain killers and maybe an ice pack, he reluctantly opened his eyes and blinked a few times, adjusting his sight to the light in the room. It seemed it was going to be another hot day as he looked out their window and saw the sun high in the sky with not a single cloud in sight.

He slowly sat up, Jasper's arm falling to his side and he ran his hands through his hair and over his face. He yawned and looked over at the clock and was surprised to find it was nearly noon.

How could they have slept for so long? It wasn't like their Aunt to let them sleep for most of the morning, even if it was their holidays. Maybe she had a long night with her boyfriend or maybe they were cuddling with each other two rooms away.

Edward shivered at that thought and made a disgusted face, there were just some things he didn't even want to know about when it came to his Aunt. He supposed they should get up and get breakfast ready, well actually it was nearing lunch, so it was time to get brunch ready.

He winced as a throb ran through his head and he held his head for a while before slowly starting to get out of bed. He was very clumsy today as he bumped into his brothers, jostling them awake.

Both of them groaned as he sat at the edge of the bed, clutching the side with his eyes closed as he waited for the bout of dizziness that suddenly overtook him to fade.

"Edward, what are you doing up?" came his older brother's groggy voice as he turned on to his other side facing his younger brothers.

"We've overslept," he replied as he slowly opened his eyes and looked at Emmett.

"What?" Jasper sat up and groggily looked at the clock, after a few seconds alarm overtook his features and he bolted out of bed, nearly toppling Edward off.

"It's almost twelve," Jasper stated frantically, "I promised I would be at the book shop early to help Mrs Appleton and Mrs Hudson move all the bookcases and shelves," rushed Jasper as he quickly changed into a white polo shirt and black shorts that reached up to his knees.

Emmett sat up and stretched, he looked over at the clock as well, "well we did have a long day yesterday and we went to bed late didn't we. No wonder we overslept," Emmett shrugged with a grin, "I don't start till one."

Edward rolled his eyes and Jasper stuck his tongue out at Emmett who just laughed. Both Edward and Emmett got ready, while Jasper hurried quietly into the bathroom. They had made their way downstairs and were in the foyer when Jasper caught up to them.

"I'm heading straight out, don't make anything for me," he said quickly making his way to the door, "I should be back by five."

"Jasper wait, I want to come and help," said Edward, Emmett was going to leave at one and he knew he'll be back late and he didn't want to stay alone with their Aunt and her boyfriend.

"No," said both his brothers, giving him stern looks.

"Why not?" he whined and had to hold back a cough.

"One you're sick, two you can't go ten minutes without feeling dizzy—"

"Yes we noticed the dizzy spell you had," inserted Emmett, Edward pouted; he had hoped he was being discreet enough for them not to notice.

"—three," continued Jasper, "no way am I letting you move heavy stuff around and four it's too hot outside and I don't want you to get dehydrated. You still have your headache don't you?"

"No I don't, I'm fine," said Edward, but just to prove him wrong, he felt a throb just above his eyebrows.

"Yeah sure," said Jasper as he looked at Edward, arms crossed.

"Sorry bro, but Jazz is right. It'll be better if you stayed home," said Emmett.

Edward sighed in defeat, "Fine, but can you guys try to hurry back." He really didn't want to stay alone with their Aunt still in the house.

Both his brothers smiled and nodded, "try to get some more sleep Ed," said Emmett as he and Jasper made their way outside.

"Oh and make sure you eat something," added Jasper.

"And don't forget to take your medicine," reminded Emmett.

"And don't try to overexert yourself."

"Try to stay out of Aunt Giselle's way."

"And make sure you rest okay, which doesn't mean taking a walk or going for a run or working in the garden."

Edward rolled his eyes at his brothers; there was a whole new meaning to protectiveness when it came to his brothers. That was another thing about being sick, they never let him do anything and there's always a bunch of rules he had to follow. But being the youngest he had no problem breaking them.

"Alright alright," he said as he moved to the door, "now can you guys go, the faster you get there, the faster you'll be back home."

Emmett grinned and Jasper smiled, nodding, "stay out of trouble okay," he ruffled Edward's hair before breaking into a run, "see you guys later."

Emmett walked out of the garden and waved, "make sure you eat something."

Edward nodded and watched his brothers leave before closing the door. He sighed and made his way into the kitchen.

"_Great now I'm stuck here by myself until they get back,"_ he thought as he entered the kitchen. He really didn't want to stay in the house with someone he hated and someone he didn't know. A strong tickle passed his throat and he braced himself as a course of coughing overtook him. He placed his hand on his mouth and tried to calm himself down.

It took a few minutes before his coughing stopped and he could finally breathe again. Edward straightened up and grimaced, his throat was hurting even more now and his headache had increased. _"I don't feel so good,"_ he could tell he wasn't feeling well again and he placed a hand on his forehead, attempting to steady himself as another bout of dizziness overtook him.

He was glad his brother left now, if they knew he wasn't feeling well again, they would have stayed. But he knew both of them were needed elsewhere and he couldn't be selfish all the time, always wanting his brothers to stay close to him. He didn't want them to think of him as a burden, someone who was always holding them back.

Edward sighed and sniffed, he hated it when he was sick, he didn't always have the most pleasant of thoughts when he was feeling as awful as he was now. He swallowed a few times, trying to moist up his sandpaper like throat, but each time her cringed as he felt the pain.

"_Better have some water," _He walked to the sink, took a glass and filled it up with water. _"Might as well make something to eat as well_," he didn't want Jasper or Emmett getting mad at him, they always knew when he didn't do as they asked. He drank the water, sighing as the cold liquid quenched his sore throat temporarily and turned around.

He was ready to put on some toast and warm up the chicken noddle soup from yesterday, but when he looked up and around the kitchen, to his surprise he found the food that Emmett and Jasper cooked yesterday still littering the island.

"_Why is all this still doing here?"_ he walked up to the island and looked over the food. Nothing was touched, not even nibbled on as all the plastic foils and container lids were till covering the dishes.

Didn't there Aunt come back last night? Surely if she did and especially with her beau there wouldn't have been one dish left in the kitchen. Maybe she went to a hotel or something? Or maybe to Justin's house, he hoped she did. At least then he wouldn't have to deal with her when he was all alone.

He looked at all the food and wondered if he should store it in the fridge. He didn't want it all to go bad, not with all the work and hours his brothers put into making all of it for her. He frowned slightly, that was another thing about their Aunt that they hated, she was never grateful for anything she had or got. She always wanted more, the next best thing, she could never be happy with what she had right now and he knew if she could she would have gotten rid of them ages ago.

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "well no point in letting good food go to waste." He quickly got to work, checking the food and placing them in the fridge. He had to stop and quickly dash for a tissue whenever he felt a sneeze coming on. He grimaces each time it happened, his throat was starting to hurt real bad, his left ear was starting to ache and his nose was blocked, if this continued on he had no doubts that he'll end up having a sinus infection.

"_I better take my medication or I'll never hear the end of it from Jazz and Em,"_ he thought as he finished putting all the food in the fridge. With so much food still left over, they wouldn't have to make anything for lunch.

He walked over to the top cabinets and took out his medication and poured himself another glass of water. Quickly taking his medication, he made sure the kitchen was clean before moving to the living room.

He walked to the window and opened the curtains, letting the sun's beams enter into the already warm room. He quickly moved out of the way and messaged his forehead; he hoped the pain killers would kick in soon. He was getting sick of the constant headache.

Edward looked around the living room, making sure nothing was out of place before deciding to go upstairs to his room and crash on the bed, he still felt tired.

He was just about to turn around and head towards the foyer, when he saw something long and shiny lying near one of the piano's legs. Curious, he walked to the piano, bent down and was surprised to pick up a hammer.

He looked at the hammer before turning his gaze to the walls, there were no more pictures added to the walls and he knew Jasper or Emmett had no need for it yesterday, so why was this here?

"Hm, weird," he turned to the piano, making sure there was nothing else around, but looking at the floor underneath the piano he was puzzled to find shavings and pieces of black wood littered around.

Something suddenly clicked in his mind and his eyes widened as he started at the shavings, cold dread rushed through him. Edward quickly shot up and stared at the piano, his eyes scanned the top of the piano, but he couldn't find any hew.

But the dread wouldn't leave him, there was something wrong and he needed to find out what it was. The hammer still in his hand, he slowly walked around the piano to the front and what he saw made his heart drop.

"What the—"

The cover lid. The cover lid with his mother and grandmother signatures on. It was gone. He couldn't even recognise it; all that he could see was a brutally driven deep trail of uneven and chipped wood.

His legs felt weak and he fell on to the small piano stool standing behind him. The hammer slipped from his fingers, hitting the floor with a loud thud.

He couldn't breathe; an ache raised in his chest and his mind was slowly starting to shut down as he kept gazing at the horrendous crime committed to his mother's favourite piano. Who could have done this? Why would they do this?

He moved his hands forward to the damaged cover lid and he gently traced the bumpy and uneven surface where his mother's signature used to be. How could this have happened? He knew he or his brothers would never do this, especially to something that reminded and brought such happy memories of their parents.

He didn't recall anyone else coming into the house, his mind was all fuzzy and his headache was increasing. He just couldn't wrap around the idea that someone could do this to his mother's piano.

Wait, Edwards mind kicked back into gear and he paled slightly. If the cover lid to the keys was this damaged, did whoever do this wreak more havoc on their priced possession. He felt his heart race as he quickly lifted up the cover and searched all the keys. All the white and black keys were in place, not one was missing or destroyed.

He sighed in relief, it seemed the cover lid was the only damage done to the piano, but still… it was a lot. Suddenly a coughing bout hit him; he quickly placed one hand on his mouth and slouched forward as his other hand crashed down on top of the keys keeping him from bashing his head onto the piano with his violent coughing.

His eyes were wide as he coughed, his gaze fixed on the keys. Soundless keys. He had expected a loud crashing sound when his hand pressed onto the black and white keys, but nothing happened. No sound came. Silence surrounded him except for the sound of his coughing as he tried to control it.

"_This can't be happening. Oh please no,"_ his body was trembling, he could see his hands trembling as his coughing died down. But he couldn't do anything; he just stared at the keys in silent horror.

After a few minutes, he slowly lifted his hand, placing his finger on the last key at the end and in one fluent movement he ran his finger across the line of keys. He expected the running sound of notes to fill his ears, but nothing happened, no sound came.

A fresh sense of dread gripped him, he was confused and shocked. He had just played the piano yesterday, it was completely fine then, what happened to it now? It was like it was dead, silenced by a merciless hammer.

Edward shakily got up and with hesitant hands, gripped the top large lid and slowly lifted it up. A gasp escaped his lips as he looked down in horror at the massacre of the beautiful instrument. Every string, peg, wood, material, everything that made up the piano was completely destroyed. Nothing was recognisable, it looked as if someone practically tore into the instrument and Edward was having a hard time understanding how it was still standing.

A sharp prickling feeling appeared behind his eyes and he knew his eyes were welling up with tears. How could anyone do this? Why did he let this happen? He was the one who always took care of his mother's piano, how could he let this happen?

"_Oh mum…"_ Edward lower lip quivered as he thought about his mother, all the images of her enjoying playing the piano flashed through his mind. He wasn't able protect what she and his grandmother loved; _"I'm so sorry."_

Who could have done this? And just on cue, Aunt Giselle slowly walked down the stairs. Edward turned to look at her, his green eyes still glistening with tears as he watched her argue to someone on her phone.

"Darling please, I'll change, I'll do whatever you want," no she wasn't arguing, she was pleading and her face scrunched up in a scowl at whatever reply she got.

"Look you cheap bastard, you can't just break up with me like that and what about everything I've done for you, this is how you repay me. Justin please, don't be so hasty," she stopped on the last few stairs, hiccupping a few times in her sentences and swaying a little.

Edward watched her curiously, so she got dumped. Jasper was right, it didn't last long and she seemed to be pretty cut up about it. He took in her appearance, she still had the same clothes on since yesterday, her hair was a little ruffled and he noticed she had a dazed kind of look; her face was pale but had a red hue across her cheeks. She had been drinking and a lot he observed; as she swayed again. His mind was still wrapped around the piano, but his Aunt appearance was puzzling, she could never let herself look like _that_ when coming down.

"Babe please, give me a chance. I'll… I'll…" she pleaded, but then she suddenly growled, her hands curling into fists and she drew the phone away from her ear and growled at it as she disconnected it.

Edward had to smirk; it seemed Justin cut her off. But then he noticed something about her hands, they were red. He narrowed his eyes and saw that she had a few scratched and what appeared to be splinters littering her two hands. What had she been doing? How did she—

The answer came to him as his breath left him. His wide eyes turned to the destroyed piano at his side and back to his Aunts red hands. She couldn't have, she couldn't have done this. He felt dizzy; his head was pounding as he tried to comprehend his discovery. It all fit into place, the piano destroyed completely from the inside; prevent it from ever being played again. His Aunt hated the sound it made; even if the most beautiful music was coming from it he knew she'd detest it. His mother and grandmother's signatures were completely wiped out; it was a bitter reminder for her, why wouldn't she scratch it out mercilessly and the scratches on her hands, it was evidence that she could be the culprit.

The ache in his chest raised and the dreaded feeling filled him again as he watched Giselle huff angrily at nothing and continued her way down the remaining stairs. She stepped into the foyer and turned into the living room, the scowl still in place as she cursed under her breath.

She looked up as she walked in and stopped when she saw him standing near the piano. Her scowl deepened and this time he had a pretty good look at her face. She was anger, nearly livid; the evidence of the amount of alcohol she consumed was present on her face. Her green eyes were cold, hard and dull, a small shiver ran through him as he realised he was completely alone with her and she was beyond furious. But he was beyond furious too.

She glared at him, "were you listening?"

Edward ignored that question, standing completely still with one hand resting on the piano, he looked at her with unforgiving, glistening eyes, "you did this," his voice came out in an accusing whisper; he didn't even notice his throat was aching so badly until he talked.

"What?" she snapped angrily, "speak up boy." it was clear she wasn't in the mood to talk to him. But he didn't care. He knew she did it.

His hands curled up into fists and with her glaring at him, still cursing wasn't helping his temper, "YOU DID THIS," and he pointed to the piano.

It took a moment for Giselle to realise what her nephew was talking about, she looked at the piano before a slow sadistic smile appeared on her lips. She turned her gaze back to Edward and nodded, "yes I did."

"HOW COULD YOU," he burst out angrily and let his anger flow, "this was my mother's piano, _your mother's_, my grandmother's. HOW CAN YOU BE SO HEARTLESS?"

Aunt Giselle's face twisted into a horrid scowl, "like I care about that piece of junk. It's nothing but a bitter reminder of them and what I could never have. I should have just thrown that thing out and burned it."

She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at Edward. Edward glared right back at her, hateful thoughts running through his mind. How could she be so heartless? So cruel? He knew she was an evil hag, but to know she could stoop so low explained how low her morals were, especially when she was so drunk.

"How could you say that? Mum loved this piano and so did grandma. Just because you've got no talent on it, doesn't give you the right to destroy something someone else loves," he said, trying to help her see sense.

"I can do whatever I please and I don't need your bratty opinion for anything. If I want to get rid of that _thing_ then I will. My ungrateful sister doesn't need it and she'll never will."

Edwards blood boiled and he could feel his temperature rising. He knew this sudden stress was not good for his already weak body, but he didn't care. He was finally going to say what he always wanted to say to the vile woman and he wasn't going to let her badmouth his mother or brothers anymore.

"You know what," his voice was trembling in anger as he glared at her, his hands shaking at his side, "you don't deserve the talent my mother had. You don't deserve the life my mother had or could have had. You're nothing but a bitter, selfish, ungrateful and resentful _bitch_ that brought everything upon herself."

"You're ruining my brother's lives, you're ruining your own life but you don't care. You just can't get over yourself and you're just deluding yourself that you can be half the person my mother was. She was better than you in every way and she'll always will be. You're nothing against my mother and YOU'LL NEVER WILL." He shouted the last part and breathed heavily, his head was pounding and his throat was killing him as he swallowed a few times and resisted the urge to cringe or go into a coughing fit.

Aunt Giselle's eyes were blazing at him, she stood stiff and tense as she watched him. Her merciless gaze unnerved him, but he was not going to take back what he said. She had it coming and this was the last draw.

"You," she hissed out, "you dare talk to me like that. Elizabeth was nothing compared to me and it'll be in your and your brother's best interest if you remember that." She advanced towards him and stood right in front of him. But he didn't move. Edward was going to stand his ground even if the smell of alcohol was making him dizzy when he breathed it in through his mouth.

"My brothers are old enough to look after themselves; they're every bit of devoted and loyal siblings to me than you were to your own sister. And you just wait, when we finally leave, nothing will stop us from turning you over to the cops." A small cough escaped his mouth before he could stop himself and he took a step back still glaring at her. He had never been this disrespectful to an adult before, he was taught better than this, but his respect for his Aunt was lost years ago and she was never going to get it back.

Aunt Giselle looked at him as a few more coughs escaped him, she took in his appearance and a surreal smile appeared on her lips as she took in what he said and what state he was in.

"You're sick aren't you?"

Edward's eyes widened as he covered his mouth, but he continued to glare at her, "no… I'm not," he denied in vain.

"Yes you are, you always are" she scoffed and took a step towards him and he took a step back, "and what makes you think you'll be leaving with your brothers."

Surprised to the sudden change of mood and conversation, Edward looked at her. His Aunt had an unpleasant and unsettling smile in place as she slowly started to back him into the wall behind the piano. "W-what do you mean?"

She grinned menacingly at him then, "You seem to forget you're still a minor boy. You can't completely leave until you're of age and if you do, I can easily just have you dragged back with or without your brothers."

"You wouldn't want me back," he said, her grin was unsettling him and with her alcohol consumed, jumbled mind; he didn't know what she was planning.

"True but doesn't mean I won't be able to find some uses for you. Believe it or not you brats are valuable to me; either it's just one of you or all three of you."

That confused him, how can he or his brothers be valuable for her? "Emmett and Jasper won't let that happen," he stated. He knew his brother wouldn't leave him behind.

Giselle looked at him with mock surprise, "so you're going to hold them back?"

"What?" he raised his eyebrows at her, "I would never—"

"You said I make your brother's lives miserable. You said they're old enough. Did you ever think that the only one stopping them from leaving is you?"

Edward watched her cautiously, but he couldn't deny her word. Yes he did think often that he was holding his brothers back, if it wasn't for him they could have left ages ago. They only stayed for him and he was glad, but was he selfish enough to let them continue to live here for another whole year. He knew he couldn't.

Giselle smirked, "of course you do and you're right. You think I'm selfish and ungrateful, but what about you? Are you not boy? Are you not holding them back? You'll see _Edward_ when they've finally had enough of this life, they'll start to resent you, think of you as a burden and they'll leave, and you'll be stuck here."

Edward shook his head, trying to deny the words she was saying but for some reason he couldn't, his hazy mind wouldn't let him. Half of him knew what she said was true; he was the only one holding his brothers back. But they would wait for him wouldn't they? They wouldn't leave him would they?

But was he selfish enough to make them stay and suffer longer when he knew how much they hated it here and how much they wanted to leave? He suddenly realised he was completely backed up against the wall and his Aunt was standing right in front of him, preventing any escape.

"They- they wouldn't leave me," he stated, trying to convince himself more than his Aunt. But all she did was smirk back at him, he knew for some twisted reason she was enjoying this and he hated it all the more that she was getting to him.

Giselle placed a hand on the wall just near his head and she loomed over him, casting her shadow over him. He was panting a little and sweaty, the heat was getting to him and he knew his temperature was rising. "Face it boy, they will leave and you will be all mine. I'll get what is rightfully mine and neither you nor your brothers will be able to stop me."

She was standing so close to him, he was having trouble breathing with the smell she was giving off. He knew she had wine in her room and he wouldn't be surprised if she had drunk the whole bottle. He tried to step away from her, but she blocked him. Chuckling wildly she leaned in; her face mere inches away from his face.

"You look just like her you know," she suddenly said softly as he braced himself against the wall. Her other hand came up and touched his face and he cringed away from her.

Her eyes were suddenly glazed over, as if she was seeing someone else, "you act just like her, speak just like her. Looking at you is like looked at my spoiled wretched sister." Her expression suddenly turned anger and her hand curled on his face. He had to suppress a cry when her long nailed fingers scrapped over his cheek and pain sprang from his face. He knew there would be a bruise there. "You're the worst kind of reminder."

"My mother was a better woman than you. You're nothing compared to her." Giselle growled at him, she drew back a little and very swiftly slapped him across the face. The force of the slap made his head slam against the wall and he groaned as his head pounded even more, black spots covered his vision and dizziness overtook him.

"Your mother is dead and decayed." She stated venomously, "She left her three spoiled brats with me and you're ruining my life by making me look after you. Well I've had enough you hear me. I've lost the perfect man, I'm losing my wealth and it's all because of you three. But I'll still get what I want," she cackled.

With a crazed look, Giselle grabbed a fist full of his shirt, tugging him forward before forcefully thrust him back. A cry escapes his lips as his back and head exploded with pain and he heard his shirt tear. The tears that started to well up in his eyes escaped down his face, making his scratched cheek sting. "Seeing the pain and fear in your eyes will be good enough as seeing it in hers."

He watched her, trying to deny her words, his vision blurring in and out as the pain coursed through his head. She had finally gone mad. He wanted to leave, to get away from her, but he was trapped against her. His cheek tingled in pain and all he wanted was his brother to arrive and get him away from this demented woman.

He felt her hand come back to his face and he feared another slap but she just cupped his cheek and then slowly made her way down to his neck. He tried shuffling away, but suddenly her other hand grasped a fist full of his hair and kept him in place. She leaned in and whispered in his ear, "You're nothing but a burden Edward. Always holding them back, always being sick, making them work more and keeping them here. They're getting sick and tired of _you_," she practically purred.

He felt the hand around his neck tighten and he struggled to get out of her grasp. He felt his heart racing, fear override his senses and he was going to be sick. She was really, _really _drunk, worse than ever.

"Aunt Giselle please, you're not yourself," he gasped out, the hand continued to tighten and he felt her nails dig into his skin. She wasn't in her right mind, she could be abusive, but this was taking it too far.

The look on her face was pleasured madness, she did not take her eyes of his face as if taking in every emotion that flickered through his eyes and he had no choice but to stare right back at her. "Please stop," he whimpered weakly and tried to push her away, cringing as she only giggled. "You're insane."

Her other hand left his hair and joined her other hand. He struggled to breath and he coughed. He couldn't take the pain, it was getting too much, it felt like his head and throat were going to explode "Please don't," he begged, but she wasn't listening.

"You're a burden boy don't forget that. You'll be all alone. You'll be all mine," he shut his eyes as tears continued to race down his face, he didn't want to believe her, but the fear from her words gripped him stronger than the grip around his neck.

"They'll leave just like your parents did and you'll be left behind." He had to get away. He had to get away, now.

"NO," he managed to yell as he finally felt her grip go slightly slack and he grabbed her arms before she could do anything else. He had enough of this and with all the strength he could muster he pushed her off and broke her away from him.

Giselle completely caught off guard, flew backwards and tumbled over the small piano seat and crashed bodily into the broken piano with a strangled cry. The already damaged piano could not take the extra heavy weight and its legs gave way. With a horrendous sound the piano came crashing down with all the broken pieces falling on Giselle and she fainted in the heap.

Edward didn't stay to see if she was okay, he was breathing heavily, gasping for much needed air. All he wanted was to get out of here. He leaped forward and practically ran out of the living room, into the foyer and up the stairs. His tears continued to streak down his face, but he didn't care. He reached his room and leaped inside, shutting the door with a bang and clumsily locked the door as he leaned heavily against it.

A sob escaped his lips and he realised he was crying. He was having trouble swallowing and breathing and the pain coursed through his throat as he gently massaged it with one hand.

Another sob escaped and he slowly slid down the door and curled up, drawing his legs into his chest. They wouldn't leave him, not now, they wouldn't. His brothers would never leave him here, she was wrong, she had to be wrong. He wasn't a burden. She was insane. She had to be lying.

Edward wrapped his arms around his body, trying to convince himself his Aunt was wrong. He was scared, more than anything he was scared.

He wanted his brothers; all he wanted was his brothers.

"Please come back."

* * *

**(A/N) How are Emmett and Jasper going to react when they find their little brother? What are they going to do now? Will they really leave Edward?**

**Well that's the end of all the abuse and Aunt Giselle... for now. So... How was it? Anyone like it? Hate it? Love it? Please let me know what you think. **

**Constructive criticism is encouraged and so is advice, again thank you to those who reviewed and sorry for any spelling/grammar mistakes **_**(smiles). (There's a knock on the door and she goes to open it)**_** Right you guys know what to do, please review.**

_**(Opens the door, sweat-drops and smiles at the beautiful blond woman standing with her arms crossed)**_** Um hi Rosalie.**

**PS. Hope everyone who celebrated Eid-Ul-Fitr had a wonderful time with your friends and families and inshaAllah (If God wills) may you all have a wonderful time when Eid-Ul-Adha comes around _(smiles)_.**


	4. Keeping Promises

**Paradise: Thank you to everyone who reviewed my last chapter. You guys are great, your reviews have been encouraging, motivating and I really appreciate it. I apologise for the wait for this chapter, but thank you for your patients **_**(smiles).**_

**Rosalie: What excuse is it this time? **_**(Crosses her arms and glare at her)**_**.**

**Paradise: **_**(blinks)**_** this is my first time updating slightly late and it's not an excuse. I've finally graduated and I'm job hunting now. So my CV and Personal Statement needed my attention more than my stories. I don't have an eternity to find a job and vice versa like some people **_**(sticks tongue out at the blond vampire).**_

**Rosalie: **_**(smirks) **_**fortunately. Anyway I'm here to help you with your inability to gain decent amount of reviews.**

**Paradise: **_**(eyes twitch)**_** I'm doing fine, got 7 reviews for my last chapter didn't I.**

**Rosalie: I've seen better**

**Paradise: **_**(grumbles and growls)**_** you just watch Rose.**

**Rosalie: **_**(smirks happily)**_** oh I will, I want to know what happens to my husband in this story.**

**Paradise: **_**(sweat-drops)**_** oh you haven't read it yet?**

**Rosalie: No, but I will.**

**Paradise: **_**(becomes slightly nervous and inches away from the blond)**_** um… anyway **_**(looks back at the readers and smiles)**_** I hope you all enjoy reading this chapter, again it's slightly intense, slightly mushy, a lot of brotherly love and contains a few swear words, so as always skip them if you wish.**

**Rosalie: Stop hogging the chapter and let them read.**

**Paradise: Course, course, **_**(smiles) **_**enjoy…**

* * *

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own anything of the Twilight saga, that's ALL Stephenie Meyer.**

* * *

Emmett sighed as he quickly made his way home. It was already nearing six and he had told his brothers he would try to make it back home soon.

Even though he had made it early for work, the work load was enormous today and he had to work non-stop to try and get everything done. It didn't help when two Ford Focus rolled in with one having three missing tires, the other with an overheated engine and about an hour later a dusty old Dodge Ram chugged into his section and he had to do a full under the hood check and try to find a new battery for it.

He was just glad that his boss had took pity on him when it neared half past five and took over the last few job he still had left. He had quickly washed up, removed his navy blue overalls, pulled on his thin red button up t-shirt over his white wife beater and quickly legged it out, shouting a quick thanks.

"_Hope Edward's feeling better,"_ he had been worried about his brother since he got through the garage doors. He just couldn't shake off the feeling that something was wrong and had a hard time concentrating on the cars he had worked on.

He couldn't help but feel worried. He always worried too much whenever his brothers were sick or injured and ever since they moved in with their aunt, the worrying never stopped.

But this time Edward was home, by himself for nearly the whole day. He hoped everything was alright. Often when his little brother got sick, he and Jasper would always stay by his side until he got better, they wouldn't even let him lift a finger if they had their complete way. But Edward was always the stubborn one… well actually all three of them were, which didn't bode well sometimes.

A grin appeared on his face as he rounded a corner and remembered all the times they had gotten into arguments and neither brother would yield until the others gave in. It usually was a battle of wills and wits, which always lead to embarrassing secrets and blackmail to come out, but at the end it always turned into harmless fun.

So for a stubborn person like Edward, being sick would not detour him to do whatever he wanted or needed to do. Doesn't matter how much he or Jasper disliked it, once their little brother was set on something, there was no changing his mind.

"_Well at least I know Jasper is there with him,"_ Jasper was supposed to be back home at five; so as long as they were both together he knew they'll be alright. He just hoped his aunt's date went well.

He grimaced as a few memories resurfaced of his aunt's treatment of them, when any of her relationship turned for the worse and even ended. It never bode well for them, so he hoped his brothers stayed out of her way. If they weren't within her sight then no harm would come to them.

Emmett just rounded the last corner onto their street and caught sight of the last person he wanted to see outside right now. He quickened up his pace so to catch up to Jasper who was running in his direction from the opposite end of the street.

He was confused, wasn't Jasper supposed to finish at five? It looked like he just got out of work, his honey blond hair was mused and slightly wind-swept –mostly due to the running– and he looked anxious as he caught sight of his older brother.

Emmett got to the gates first and waited for Jasper to reach him. Jasper slowed down to a halt in front of his older brother and took a few moments to catch his breath.

"What… What are you doing here?" Jasper asked when his panting slowed down, "I thought you were going to finish at four today?"

Emmett shook his head, "there were too many repairs and jobs today. Mac needed all the help he could get. I couldn't make it out at that time." He frowned slightly, "but I thought you were supposed to finish at five, it's already six bro."

Jasper nodded and sighed. They both started to make their way through the garden, "I was but two of the big book shelves just collapsed and I had to fix them and it took longer than I thought to re-organise the books after rearranging the bookcases and shelves." He sighed again, "I wanted to get out as quick as I could, but I couldn't leave Mrs Appleton and Mrs Hudson to do the repairs by themselves and then there was a problem with one the orders we placed. I had to call up and get that sorted before leaving."

Emmett nodded, sympathetically, "busy day."

Jasper scoffed and cracked a small grin, "tell me about it."

They reached the front door, Emmett used his key to open it and they both stepped inside. "Do you think Ed ate anything?" asked Jasper as he stepped inside.

Emmett rolled his eyes and grinned, "Doubt it; you know how he's like when he's sick. He's probably sipping on a glass of water while listening to some music, trying to pretend he's perfectly fine."

Jasper chuckled, that was their little brother, no chance would he announce he's sick until it became plainly obvious. "I should probably make him some more chicken noodle soup, there won't be enough if he warmed up what was left."

Emmett nodded and shut the door behind him. Both brothers stood in the foyer for a few second and found the house to be abnormally quiet. There were no signs of Edward rushing to meet them with a big smile on his face or their aunt Giselle calling for them to start some inane chore.

Jasper absentmindedly licked his lips as he suddenly felt very anxious, he couldn't place it, but something was bothering him. He had been feeling it all day, ever since the bookshelves fell. He turned his head to his older brother and found him frowning slightly.

"…. Em?" Emmett turned his gaze to his brother, "have you been getting this… unsettling feeling in the pit of your stomach by any chance?"

Emmett eyes widen slightly, how did…? But he had to remember who he was talking to; Jasper had a certain gift when it came to sensing people emotions, especially his brothers. The nearer he was too them the clearer he could tell how they were feeling.

Emmett nodded, "all day. There's something wrong."

Jasper frowned but inwardly his worry was increasing. This wasn't good, if Emmett could feel it too than something definitely was wrong. "I'll quickly go make the chicken noodle soup," he said as he started to make his way down the hall.

"I'll go find Ed, he'll probably be in our room," said Emmett.

Jasper nodded at him and turned around to make his way to the kitchen as Emmett made his way towards the stairs. He just made it three steps up when he heard a horrified gasp come from his brother.

Emmett quickly leaned over the banister and looked at Jasper. His eyes quickly scanned his brother, making sure he wasn't hurt or sick. Jasper was a bit like Edward, he wouldn't admit something was wrong with him until it's too late. But Jasper was just standing at the entrance to the living room, his body had gone stiff as a board, his face suddenly turned pale and his horrified and shocked brown eyes were focused on something Emmett couldn't see.

"Jazz?" asked Emmett cautiously, but his brother didn't answer him. His concern increased tenfold and he quickly made his way back down to Jasper. "Jazz, you alright?" he placed his hand on his brother's shoulder and Jasper slowly brought his wide-eyed gaze to him.

Emmett was surprised to see his young brother's eyes turn glossy; Jasper was usually so strong and was very good at making it seem like nothing could affect him by being so emotionless. But that was only reserved for people outside their family –including their Aunt; she was no longer family to them. Jasper had no problem showing his emotions to his brothers and it was a certain emotion portrayed on his brother's brown eyes that made the small seed of dread start to grow in the pit of his stomach. He could practically feel the betrayed and horrified emotion radiating off his brother and it didn't help him reel his own.

Sensing he wasn't helping Emmett, Jasper closed his eyes, concentrated and turned his gaze back to the living room. But the feeling was still there and not being able to take any more of this Emmett followed his brother's gaze.

His breathe left him, his eyes widened matching his brother's horrified gaze, shock override him and he nearly stumbled as he moved into the living room toward the once perfect piano.

But it was no longer perfect, it no longer showed the care and effort Edward put into taking care of it. The piano sat on the floor, its legs bent, broken and missing in the rubble around it. The large cover was hanging off it, pieces of wood, strings, material littered the floor and inside of the piano. Emmett stopped right next to it and had to suppress the gasp that wanted to escape. It was completely destroyed, nothing looked recognisable or repairable and a dreaded feeling swept through him.

Where was the coverlid for the keys? Where was the last piece of his mother and grandmother? His eyes quickly scanned the ruined piano and he started to move pieces away trying to look for the long piece of wood.

He felt Jasper move forward and stand near him as he continued to search for the lid. He moved to the front of the destroyed piano, lifted up the large cover lid and froze.

"Oh god."

His insides became cold and his heart wrenched as he finally found the lid. He gently placed the larger lid down and brought the smaller one out. It was completely destroyed, he couldn't even recognise the signatures any more, they weren't even there. All there was a crudely scrapped trench dug into the wood.

His mother and grandmother craved those in themselves; he remembered when they both told him and how happy they were when they played it. How could this happen? Who did this?

"Is that the—?" asked Jasper quietly.

Emmett got up and showed the damaged piece to his brother, sudden angry quickly swept through him, replacing the feeling of cold horror. He looked at Jasper, his teeth were clenched, his hands tight in a fist, his face place –just as he knew his was— and anger in his eyes as he stared at what was left of their mother's possession.

"Who could have done this?" hissed out Jasper, he was starting to tremble and Emmett felt his anger rise as well. "Who'd dared do this?"

Emmett hands tightened on the lid and he closed his eyes. Who would dare do this indeed, when he got his hands on whoever did this to the only thing in this house that brought his brothers any sense of happiness, they were going to pay. Their grandmother's only favourite piano, their mother's keepsake, Edward's –

Suddenly his eyes widened and the anger that was there was replaced quickly by fear.

Edward.

Where was Edward?

Oh god. If he had seen this, scratch that, he would have definitely seen this; Emmett could just imagine what would have gone through his youngest brother's mind.

Just when he was about to turn around and search for his young brother, he saw Jasper bent down and pick up a small piece of paper lying on the small table behind the couch. He watched his brother face change from confusion, disbelief to anger and he scrunched up the paper in his hand.

"That… That BITCH. SHE DID THIS," yelled Jasper as he swirled around to face his older brother.

Emmett looked at him confused and Jasper handed him the paper. He placed the small cover lid on the floor and took the paper, straightening it up, he recognised his aunts writing. It looked like she just scribbled it on; it wasn't her usual neat writing.

_Clean this mess up and don't disturb me._

His hands were trembling and his eyes were fixed on that one sentence. She did this. How could she do this? _Why_ would she do this? Wasn't abusing and neglecting them enough, wasn't making their lives hell enough for her. Why did she take away the one thing they all loved?

Through his rage, a nagging feeling pestered him. They had to find Edward; he needed to know he was okay. If that bitch did this then he knew his brother wouldn't have taken this lying down. He would have definitely done or said something.

"Ed's sick Em," Jasper worried tone reached him. He still looked angry, but he knew as well as Emmett that Edward was their first and important priority. "If she did this, he would have done something. But with him being sick as he is, she might have… she might have…" his words lingered and his fear grew, as well as Emmetts. "We need to find him."

Emmett nodded hurriedly, he ripped up the small paper, letting it litter to the floor. Let his Aunt be damn, he didn't care what she'll do or say, all he cared about was his brothers and they needed him right now. They needed to find Edward.

"Come on." They both ran out of the living room, into the foyer and up the stairs. Their feet thundered to the top floor, they didn't care if their aunt might be still home and could hear them. All they wanted was their youngest brother to be safe.

They reached their bedroom door and Jasper grabbed the doorknob and turned it, but it wouldn't open. Both of them checked the outer lock and noticed it wasn't locked, which meant Aunt Giselle didn't lock Edward into the room. But that also meant it was locked on the inside and that was a concern on its own.

Emmett and Jaspers concern rose tenfold and they both knocked on the door, gently calling out to their younger brother.

"Edward? Edward, are you in there? Open up?" said Emmett; worry was clearly etched on his face when they were only met with silence.

Jasper knocked again, dread slowly started to seep in, making his chest feel heavy, "Edward are you alright? Please open the door."

The silence still stretched on and both brothers looked at each other. What was wrong? Something must have happened, Edward never let them wait this long. Just when they decided to break the door down, they heard shuffling from the other side.

A few seconds later the door swung open and Edward stood before them. Shock override their bodies as they saw their baby brother standing in front of them, he looked completely… broken.

Edward usually bright green eyes were dull, puffy and red. Tear stains ran down his pale face, his clothes and hair were oddly ruffled and torn, his cheeks were red and so was his throat and they could see four lines running from the top of his cheek to his jawline. He was looking at them with relief, guilt, pain and fear, Emmett and Jasper never saw their brother look like that before and it shocked them more than the broken piano.

"Ed?" Jasper choked out, "what… what happened?"

Edward eyes suddenly welled up in tears and a small sob escaped his lips. Before both older brothers could do anything, Edward lunged forward and captured Jasper into a hug. Jasper stumbled a little catching his brother, but quickly steadied himself; he felt Edward wrap his arms around his neck and he buried his head into his brother's shoulder, his own shoulders trembling.

Jasper arms automatically circled around his brother, trying to give him as much comfort as he could and he looked at Emmett who was staring at Edward with blazing concern. Emmett met Jasper's gaze and nodded towards their bed. Jasper gently moved forward into the room completely, guiding his brother to sit on the bed and Emmett shut and locked the door behind them.

Edward didn't let Jasper go as they moved across the room and sat on the bed, he held onto his brother like a life line. After making sure the door was locked securely, Emmett joined them, sitting on Edwards other side. His eyes quickly swept through Edwards body, making a quick assessment if he was hurt anywhere else.

Jasper watched Emmett take in the state of their little brother while he tried to calm Edward down, rubbing slow circles behind his back, whispering to him that everything would be alright and that they were here now. He could feel the hot tears run down his brother's cheeks against his neck and his warm forehead tucked under his jaw. Edward never cried it would be really something serious if he did and that's what scared him.

"Edward?" Emmett put his hand on Edwards shoulder and squeezed it gently, "Ed, what happened?"

Edward shook his head, still not moving from his position as he tightened his grip around Jasper. The two older boys looked at each other over his head, their worry increasing and an unpleasant feeling growing in their chests.

"We saw what happened to the piano Ed," said Jasper gently, "I'm so sorry, we know how much you loved it. It was Aunt Giselle wasn't it."

He felt Edward stiffen slightly in his arms, but he nodded nonetheless and a sob escaped his lips.

"It'll… It'll be okay Ed, don't worry. We'll find a way to fix this. I'll make sure that hag gets what she deserves. I'll make her pay for what she did to mum's piano," comforted Emmett as he gently squeezed his brother's shoulder.

Edward shook his head again, "it's… it's not… not about the p-piano," his voice was muffled as he buried himself further into Jaspers embrace.

The older brothers looked at their younger brother in confusion, "but you loved that piano, it was mum and grans," said Emmett sympathetically.

"I k-know… but it's not o-only that," said Edward, his voice was harsh and quiet. If they weren't sitting so close together, they probably wouldn't have heard him.

"What is it?" asked Jasper.

But all Edward did was shake his head and clutched the back of Jasper shirt tightly. He didn't want to think about it, he just wanted his brothers close. They were finally home and he didn't want to let them go. Aunt Giselle's words kept flooding his mind and he was scared to voice them out encase it was true.

Emmett worry was skyrocketing; this was so unlike Edward that it was unnerving him. He took a moment to calm his raging mind and looked more sharply at the state his little brother was in.

His white shirt was torn and missing a few buttons, exposing his chest, it's as if someone forcibly yanked at it. His shirt's collar was out of place and the four lines marring his cheek stood out so profoundly against his pale skin, they were bright red and slightly swollen and then he noticed his brother's neck, it was bright red as well and it seemed Edward was having trouble swallowing. Looking closely he could see bruises protruding as if someone pressed their fingers into his neck.

Emmett started to place the pieces together and he was having a hard time swallowing the bile that was rising in his throat. He quickly checked his brother's trousers and was relieved to find nothing was ripped there and the belt and zip were intact. But that… that bitch still touched him, she wouldn't have stooped so low as to go that far.

Fear, disbelief and anger slowly gripped him, he couldn't believe this happened. How dare she touch him like that, hadn't she done enough to them already that she had to hurt their baby brother like this? But maybe he was wrong he tried telling himself, maybe his mind was jumping to other conclusions, but Emmett couldn't take it anymore; he had to know Edward was alright. He had to know he was wrong.

Jasper noticed Emmett emotions change and he was just about to look up at his older brother, but was surprised when Emmett grabbed Edward and gently, but firmly pulled him out of his embrace and turned him around to face him.

Green eyes filled with surprise, guilt and sadness looked into worried and fearful blue and Emmett tried to suppress the tremor that wanted to run through him.

"Please tell me she didn't Ed, please tell me you're okay," Emmett pleaded, this was the worst case scenario and if that wretched hag touched his brother in any inappropriately manner then he was going to kill her.

"Emmett what are you talking about?" asked Jasper, bewildered and worried for him now as the colour was slowly leaving the nineteen years old face.

Edward looked at his oldest brother curiously; he didn't understand what Emmett was talking about. "Ed…. She didn't… she didn't," Emmett swallowed thickly and tried to push the sentence out; "she didn't t-touch you… did she?"

Jasper's brown eyes widen considerably in horror and he focused on Edward, "E-Ed?"

Edward own green eyes widen as well when he realised what his brother was asking him and he quickly shook his head, "She didn't. She didn't t-touch me like… like that. Definitely not like that."

Emmett and Jasper searched his face critically for a few seconds, before relaxing and gave out sighs of relief when seeing he was telling the truth. But the worry and concern was still there, if that wasn't the case than the marks on his face and especially around his neck…

"She tried to strangle you," breathed out Emmett, his grip on his brother tightened, fear overriding him again.

Edward eyes glistened and he looked down and away from his brothers. "That's… That's not what was worse," he said gently.

"What—?" Jasper and Emmett looked at him confused and horrified. What was worse than nearly being strangled to death? To know that their youngest brother was almost taken away from them, suffered while they were tending to other people needs, made a deep empty hole in their hearts.

Edward looked back at them and his brothers had to resist the urge to gasp. His eyes first dull, were now overly bright and they were scared and panicked. There was something there that hindered them; it was so intense, so real and it frightened them to the bone. What did she do to him?

"Please don't leave me."

Emmett and Jasper looked at him in shock. What they were expecting was not that, those four words froze them in place. Noticing their reaction Edward crumbled a little.

"Please don't, I'll-I'll be good from now on I promise," he cried out desperately, grabbing hold of each of his brothers' arm. "I won't hold you guys back, I-I won't get sick again I promise. I promise I won't be a burden anymore," the tears spilled down his face as his brothers continued to look at him in shock, "but please don't leave me with… with _her_. I don't want to be left alone, not with her."

He lowered his head, his hands trembling as well as his shoulders as he refused to let go of his brothers, fearing they would disappear right there and he would have to suffer at the hands of his aunt alone again.

His brothers shuffled and for a split second Edward feared his aunt was right, but that thought quickly left him when two sets of strong arms wrapped around him, embracing him into a tender and loving hug. Edward let out a choked sob and buried his head into their shoulders, hugging them back furiously.

A word wasn't spoken for a while as Edward relished in his brothers arms and Emmett and Jasper contemplated his words. They poured all their love and affection into that hug, wanting to prove him wrong. They would never leave him, they _couldn't_ and they _wouldn't_.

"Is that what she told you?" asked Jasper as he continued to rub his back comfortingly. Edward nodded his head against their shoulders and let out a small whimper.

"I… I know you're both old enough to leave and-and I won't ever stop you. But please don't leave me behind. Please don't leave me with her."

The older Cullen brother's hearts constricted painfully at the lonely tone their young brother used. That bitch actually made him believe they would really leave him.

"We never planned on leaving you Ed," said Emmett, he felt his baby brother tremble and he gently kissed him on the side of his head. He didn't want Edward to keep believing they would ever leave him. "The thought never crossed our minds. When we ever plan to leave, it'll always be us three together, no one going to be left behind, especially not you Ed."

Edward tightened his grip on them, "you-you won't?"

"Don't be silly Edward," said Jasper as he nuzzled his head against his brothers, "you're stuck with us for good. We won't ever leave you. We won't leave our little brother behind, we promise."

"And you're not a burden Ed, you never were and you never will be," continued Emmett in a strong comforting voice, "don't let that… that sorry excuse for a woman tell you otherwise."

Tears continued to roll down his cheeks, his left cheek stinged each time a salty tear ran down it. His hazy mind gripped onto what his brother were telling him. He was still scared and worried, but he no longer let the doubt cloud his mind. His brothers said they won't leave him behind then he believed them.

"I'm sorry," he realised how hoarse and rough his voice sounded and he finally registered the pain in his throat and head. But he didn't care, he was cushioned in between his brothers, their soothing voices denying everything his aunt told him and their comforting and warm bodies helping him calm down considerably.

"It's not your fault," interjected Jasper, "don't you dare blame yourself for anything."

"We know who's to blame Edward, you have no reason to be sorry," said Emmett.

"I know," came his quiet reply, "… But-but still, I'm sorry." Emmett and Jasper sighed, they saw no need for Edward to apologise, but it was how he was. Always apologising for mistakes that weren't his doing, all they could do was comfort him and help him realise that nothing was his fault, it never was.

They stayed there together, letting the time pass by. Edwards grip would occasionally tighten on each brother and Emmet and Jasper would sooth and calm him down by whispering comforting words, kissing him on the forehead and cuddling him.

Emmett looked over at the clock and it was past eight, a new worry started to set into him. Edward had started coughing a little and he groaned and whimpered a few times, his face scrunching up in pain. He couldn't forget that Edward was still sick and he still didn't know everything that happened to him, but damn him if he let his brother suffer any longer.

"Ed?" he said gently, the young boy turned his head to face him, hazy green eyes gazed at him, "have you taken your medicine? When was the last time you ate?"

It took a few seconds for Edward to realise what Emmett was asking before he looked down and tried to remember. "I had my morning dose, but I haven't eaten anything all day," he admitted.

Emmett nodded briskly and slowly made to get up, "I'll be right back," he looked at Jasper, who nodded and he quickly turned, unlocked the door and left the room.

"How you feeling?" asked Jasper as they both straightened up, "and be honest."

Edward smiled tiredly at his brother, "my head and throat hurt really badly, I'm feeling a little nauseous and dizzy and I think my temperatures gone up."

Jasper nodded grimly and quickly got out a thermometer from the top of the cupboard and placed it into Edward's mouth, underneath his tongue. They both waiting for a minute before Jasper gently took it out and looked at the reading.

He frowned, "it's 101.3. You're right; your fever has gone up. Let's get you cooled down." He gently helped Edward take off his torn white shirt, leaving him only in his thin white wife-beater and trousers. Edward shuffled into a more comfortable position on the bed and Jasper got up and opened the bottom larger window as far as it could go. He didn't know how much that was going to help, there was only a slight breeze blowing through, but it was better than nothing.

Jasper sat back with Edward again and ran his hand through his brother's bronze hair, he noticed his hair was slightly damp and he was sweating a little too. Edward sighed contently and leaned into Jaspers side, resting his head on his shoulder and he let the cough come out that had wanted to escape.

Jasper patted his back as his coughing grew and quickly passed Edward a tissue from the cupboard. Edward coughed and sneezed into the tissue and he groaned pitifully as the ache in his head and throat increased.

"I don't feel so good," he rasped out.

"Here this will help," said Emmett and he came in holding a large tray filled with food, drinks, Edwards medicine and an ice pack wrapped up in a cloth. Tucked under his arm was a first-aid kit and he walked into the room, balanced the tray in one hand and locked the door behind him.

He quickly made his way to his brothers, getting on the bed, he placed the tray in front of them and encouraged both his brothers to eat as he passed the warmed up chicken noodle soup to Edward. Edward took it shakily and stared at it, honestly he didn't want to eat anything, even if his stomach was demanding food.

Emmett noticed and smiled encouragingly at his brother, "come on Ed, you can't take your medicine on an empty stomach. Try some soup and have some water."

Edward looked grimly at the soup and pouted at Emmett. The oldest laughed, finding the pout with the red nose and cheeks quite amusing and adorable on his baby brother.

"Come on Ed, I'm not taking no for an answer. Eat up."

Edward sighed dejectedly and tried eating the soup. After taking a few sips, he grimaced as it traveled down his sandpaper like throat and Jasper handed him a glass of water and he gladly drank it down.

"Did you see Aunt Giselle?" asked Jasper cautiously, looking at Emmett. If she gave his brother a hard time then no one was going to stop him from murdering her.

Edward quickly looked up from his soup and his worried and fearful gaze met Emmett's calm one. Emmett smiled reassuringly at them and shook his head, "no I didn't. She's either not home or she's knocked out in her bedroom."

Jasper grunted and took another bite of his Scottish pie and Edward sighed, "She was drunk."

Emmett and Jasper looked at him, "what?"

Edward nodded, "she was drunk, and her boyfriend dumped her. Over the phone I think."

They let that piece of news sink in and nodded curtly, "she deserved it," growled Jasper, "she had it coming."

"Is that why she did that to… to mum's piano?" asked Emmett, looking at Edward sympathetically.

Edward nodded and sighed, "I think that was the breaking point for her. When she saw me and after the things I said to her, she... she went insane." He shuddered, thinking about the way she looked at him while she tried to strangle him to death.

Emmett and Jasper stared at him worriedly and put supporting hands on each of his shoulders and squeezed them gently.

"I'm sorry we weren't there to stop her Edward," said Jasper thickly, "if-if only I hadn't been so stubborn to make you stay home then none of this would have happened."

Edward shook his head and smiled reassuringly at Jasper, "maybe or it would have happened another time Jazz. You didn't know she was going to get drunk and... Well attack me," both older brothers flinched at his words, "I don't blame you and you shouldn't dare blame yourself for this. We didn't know."

Jasper continued to gaze at his little brother and Edward held his eyes to his. He wanted Jasper and Emmett to know that this wasn't their fault and he didn't blame him. He expressed his relief, happiness to be back with them, showed understanding and affection in his eyes and he knew Jasper would both see and feel them.

Jasper stared at him for a few more seconds before a small smile appeared on his lips and he nodded, slightly reluctantly, but he accepted his brother's words.

Emmett chuckled at his young siblings and shook his head. It was always interesting and amusing watching his brothers communicate wordlessly together. Some of the faces and emotions that flicker through their faces unknowingly were hilarious to watch, especially if he didn't know what they were conversing about.

"Ed?" he heard Jasper ask Edward attentively after a few minutes. Edward stopped the spoon half way to his mouth and looked at Jasper questionably, "could you tell us what happened? What did she do and say?"

Edward green eyes widened slightly and Jasper looked like it pained him to say it. He knew both he and Jasper didn't want Edward to relive it again, but they needed to know and they knew it was best to make Edward talk about it or he would bottle it all up and brood about it by himself.

After a second of waiting, Edward nodded and was about to start when Emmett interrupted him, "keep eating too Ed, I want you to finish that bowl and have something else before I give you your medicine."

Edward pouted at him, but Emmett held a stern gaze and looked pointedly at the hardly eaten chicken noodle soup, indicating to finish it. Edward jutted out his lower lip further, tilted his head down a little, making his bronze hair fall over his wide bright green eyes and looked pleadingly at his older brother. But unlike Jasper, Emmett was immune to that look and shook his head with a grin. It just made his baby brother look adorable and he resisted the urge to laugh. It had been a while since he saw that look.

"That's not going to work on me Ed, all you do is look cute," he grinned cheerfully, knowing that word was going to annoy him.

Edward lost his look quickly and scowled at his brother, a small cough escaping through his lips. "I'm not cute. Stop saying that like I'm a baby."

Emmett laughed, "But you are a baby Ed. Our baby brother."

Edward glared at him, moodily took a spoonful of soup into his mouth and gave a 'there-you-happy-now' look. It only made Emmett laugh harder and Jasper to smirk at the completely different look Edward was giving their big brother now.

"You got to teach me how you do that Em. He always gets away with everything whenever he uses that on me," Jasper grinned.

Emmett winked at Jasper as Edward groaned. They took a few minutes to settle down before the mood became sombre again and Edward started to talk.

* * *

It was one o'clock, past midnight and the oldest from the three still sat awake. His eyes were fixed on his younger brothers; both of them were sleeping soundly, exhausted from the day's activities and as soon as they ate everything they could and talked about what happened, they had both clonked out.

Jasper was lying on his side, an arm draped over their little brother and Edward was tucked under his head, the ice pack held in place between his forehead and Jasper's neck, curled up and finally sleeping peacefully. Edward had managed to finish all the chicken noodle soup and the mashed potatoes and soft rice pudding he had convinced him to eat. Jasper had made sure Edward drank plenty of fluids and checked his temperature. They were happy to see it was going down, even by a little and knew after he had taken his medicine and with a good night sleep, he would feel better in the morning.

Emmett had cleaned and disinfected the wounds on his cheek and throat, suppressing the anger at his aunt whenever Edward flinched or hissed at the pain. He felt angry; he didn't know if it was just only his anger or if Jasper was helping too by getting carried away with his own emotions as he had paced the room angrily when Edward finished telling them what happened.

But most of all he was angry at his aunt for making it so hard for him to keep his promises. Angry at himself for being so helpless and the oldest and yet he couldn't do anything to protect his brothers. But he wasn't one to stay angry for long and he made sure to calm Jasper down and kept his smile in place.

It was after a while when all three of them were sitting together, backs leaning against the wall as they just talked, did Edward start to go limp between them and doze off. He and Jasper had helped him settle into a more comfortable position and soon Jasper joined him and they both subconsciously snuggled up together, fast asleep.

Emmett sighed and ran a hand through his youngest brother's bronze hair and his mind drifted to everything Edward had told them. He couldn't believe he had left his brother alone to face their drunken, abusive and insane aunt. If only he was there to help him, he knew she wouldn't have done anything to him and he could have protected his brother.

Just like he promised his mother he would.

He sighed and leaned his head back against the wall, he was sitting at the foot of the bed and the images of his parents littered through his mind. Would they be disappointed with him? Ashamed? He knew he hadn't done a great job in looking at his brothers, not with all the scars and emotional abuse they'd suffered. Will his parents forgive him? Would his mum? He couldn't help but think he had broken the promise he made to her. She had looked at him as her oldest son, the older brother of her two youngest sons, their protector when their parents weren't there, to be there for them and protect them when they couldn't.

Had he done a good job looking after his brothers? He couldn't ask Jasper and Edward, they were biased, and anything he did for them always met with their approval. He had to let the small smile creep onto his face and he turned back to his brothers.

He had to protect them; he couldn't let what happen to Edward, happen again or to Jasper.

"Em?" a quiet voice called out to him.

Emmett turned and looked at Jasper, whose head was tilted up, blinking his eyes a few times to adjust to the darkness in the room and looked at him.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked, making sure not to raise his voice.

Emmett smiled and nodded, "yeah, just couldn't sleep." Jasper continued to stare at him and he knew his brother would find out soon enough why he couldn't get any sleep.

A sigh escaped his brother's lips after a few seconds and the eighteen years old looked attentively at him. "What are we going to do?"

Emmett let a smile grace his lips, "we're going to do what we planned to do Jazz. I think it's time for it."

Jasper snorted in agreement and nodded. Emmett noticed a new light gleam in his brother's eyes when he said that and he couldn't help but feel a little excited too.

"Are we definitely going to do this?" asked Jasper, hope lining his voice. He wanted to make sure they were both on the same page.

"Yes," he grinned, "and it's time I got started on it."

"Do you need some help?"

Emmett shook his head, "no," he looked at their youngest brother; he looked so calm and peaceful in his sleep. Completely oblivious to what was being said around him, "you get some sleep too, I don't think Edward will be willing to let go of you just yet."

Jasper chuckled at the firm grip Edward had on his shirt and settled back down. "Try not to stay up too late bro; I don't want to deal with an angry bear in the morning."

Emmett laughed gently, "I won't be long. Just going to make some calls and then I'll hit the hay."

Jasper nodded and settled back into sleep and Emmett smiled tenderly at his two brothers.

It was time he kept his promise.

* * *

**(A/N) There you have it, hope you enjoyed this chapter and it's worth a review **_**(smiles)**_**. I look forward to reading what you guys think and like ****always ****constructive criticism is encouraged and so is advice. Sorry for any spelling or grammar mistakes, I double checked everything, so I should be good **_**(grins)**_**.**


	5. Moment of Flight

**Paradise: Thank you so much for the wonderful reviews everyone **_**(smiles)**_** and I'm so sorry for the wait, but here's the next chapter and I hope you enjoy it.**

**Rosalie: Hm your last chapter did pretty well; don't know about this one though.**

**Paradise:**_** (pouts) **_**you're mean Rose.**

**Rosalie: **_**(Shrugs with a grin)**_** I know. Now what excuse was it this time for the wait?**

**Paradise: **_**(eyes twitch in annoyance)**_** there are no excuses; I've been busy with job interviews and family commitment. My job hunting finally turned fruitful and I've been offered a place **_**(smiles happily)**_**…. Well after going through nerve racking and heart racing interviews, they were scary.**

**Rosalie: You scare to easy.**

**Paradise: It was so too scary **_**(grumbles)**_**. Anyways again thank you for the reviews, I loved them **_**(smiles)**_**. I won't hold you any longer, now on with chapter five, enjoy…**

**WARNING: Chapter contains mention of abuse. Please don't read if you don't feel comfortable about it.**

* * *

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own anything of the Twilight saga, that's ALL Stephenie Meyer.**

* * *

"Edward? Edward," someone was shaking his shoulder gently, "Edward. Edward, come on bro wake up."

Edward groaned and buried his head deeper into his pillow. He didn't want to get up now, he still wanted to sleep. But the person was still shaking him gently to wake up.

"Come on Ed, time to get up," the voice gently corked him further away from blissful sleep and he groaned again.

"Five more minutes please," he mumbled and swatted the hand away from his shoulder.

The person chuckled, "I know Edward. Just get up now and you can sleep as much as you want later."

He didn't want to get up, he was finally feeling some relief from the pain he endured yesterday and he didn't want to move encase it came back. Edward noticed his head wasn't pounding as much as it was before and his throat didn't ache horribly. No he definitely didn't want to get up yet.

The person could feel Edward relaxing back to sleep and they huffed in slight annoyance, "Come on _Eddy_."

That got a reaction out of him, Edward eyebrows twitched in his own annoyance. He hated that nickname.

"_Eddy_," the voice sang just above his ear. Edward groaned, pushing the person away and flipping on to his back. He opened his eyes groggily and stretched.

Jasper grinned at his young brother as he stood over him, "finally sunshine. I knew that would wake you up."

Edward's eye twitched and he grumbled, sitting up, "and you knew I'll get annoyed by it. You know I hate that nickname."

Jasper chuckled, ruffled his brother's bronze hair and straightened up, "must have slipped my mind."

"_Like hell it did,"_ growled Edward inwardly and he glared up at his middle brother.

"Aww come on don't look at me like that. How else was I supposed to wake you?" asked Jasper.

Edward ran a hand through his hair and pouted. "You could have just let me sleep a little longer." He looked at the clock; it was six o'clock in the morning.

Jasper smiled at him fondly, "I know Ed, but we need you awake. Now," he sat down on the bed, "how are you feeling? Any better?" He asked and placed a hand on his little brother's forehead. He sighed in relief when he noticed the fever had gone down considerably.

Jasper quickly scanned Edward, making sure he didn't show any other signs of sickness. His face was no longer pale, there was a healthy shade of pink colouring his cheeks, and he wasn't shivering or sweating. The marks on his cheek and neck were still there, the bruises were a little more profound than before, but that was to be expected.

But he knew they'll fade soon… hopefully very soon.

Smiling, Jasper got up; nonetheless it would be best to make sure and got the thermometer. "Here, we better check it," and placed the thermometer in Edward's mouth.

Edward pouted again, but didn't argue. He knew his brothers were worried about him and he couldn't blame them. The events of yesterday raced through his mind and he couldn't help but feel guilty about making his brothers worry so much.

They waited for a minute before Jasper took out the thermometer and looked at it. He gave Edward a bright smile, "it's definitely gone down. It's 97.88."

Edward sighed with a smile. He was feeling a lot better as well. His body didn't ache as much as before and he didn't feel dizzy or nauseous. He knew he still needed a few more days before he was a hundred per cent, but for some reason he felt lighter than he ever did.

Bewildered he looked at his older brother. Jasper seemed happier and cheerful, his movements were relaxed and carefree –something he didn't often see in his brother– and Edward knew he was hiding something.

But before he could say anything to find out, their bedroom door opened. He tensed for a moment, but relaxed when he saw Emmett walk in.

Emmett smiled at his two brothers, and then grinned when he saw Edward rub his eyes tiredly. "See you finally got sleeping beauty awake," he joked.

Jasper laughed and Edward glared at his eldest brother. "Why are guys awake? It's the weekend, you guys don't have work today," stated Edward, before he looked dubiously at his brothers, "do you?"

He looked at their faces and caught the slight downward turn of their lips before convincing smile spread across their faces. Edward frowned at them, they were definitely hiding something.

Jasper shook his head, "nope we don't need to go into work today."

"Not anymore," declared Emmett.

Edward raised an eyebrow at that and he was going to ask why when he noticed Emmett was holding a backpack over his shoulder.

Confused Edward finally looked around their room and noticed it was all nearly empty. Three full duffle bags sat on the floor near the bed; their wardrobe was open and empty of any clothes and the cupboard as well. Both Emmett and Jasper guitars cases were standing against the wall, presumably with their guitars in them.

He felt his heart start to race and he quickly turned to his brothers. Both his brothers were dressed for going out, he was confused. But most of all a sense of terror started to grip onto him when he realised what this all meant. Edward threw the blanket off him and leaped off the bed, "where... where are you guys going?"

Both of his brothers looked at him seriously, "we're leaving Ed." said Emmett.

Edward's eyes widened and his heart seemed to have stopped beating. They were leaving? They were leaving; this couldn't be happening. His aunt couldn't have been right; they weren't leaving without him were they?

Before he could voice his panic, Jasper came forward quickly and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, "Edward calm down," he said softly, "all three of us are leaving. Together. No way are we leaving you behind here."

Edward looked at Jasper before relief flooded him like a huge tidal wave. Jasper frowned and flinched at the intensity of his emotions. Did his little brother honestly think they were still going to leave him? He gently squeezed Edward's shoulder reassuringly and cursed their aunt. This was all her fault.

Edward leaned into Jasper and ran his hand through his hair, "good, just try not to give me a panic attack."

Jasper chuckled and Emmett grinned as he come up and ruffled Edward's hair, before passing him a pair of clothes to change into.

"Quickly get changed bro. The sooner we get out of here the better."

Edward smiled and nodded and quickly got changed. Jasper started to finish off the last of the packing and looked to Emmett, "Have you packed enough food?"

Emmett nodded, "got some packed in the backpack and the rest are on the counter in the kitchen. I'll get that when we head down."

Jasper nodded and Emmett walked to the door, "I'll go make sure the coast is clear," he said before looking up and down the hallway and disappearing.

Edward finished up buttoning his shirt, he was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that they were actually, _finally_ leaving. They were finally leaving this house, away from their aunt, away from her rules, away from her abuse.

He no longer had to take orders from her, no longer would he have to listen to her taunt and berate him, call him worthless or a burden. No more physical and emotion abuse and especially no more watching each other suffer by her hands, doing inane chores and fearing what she would do to them the next day.

His heart was nearly bouncing in his chest with excitement. A true smile stretched onto his face as he moved to help Jasper finish up putting the last of their possessions into the bags. Jasper had his own smile in place as he discreetly watched his brother, he could practically feel Edward's happiness radiating off him in waves and Jasper let it wash over him. It had been too long since he felt his brothers feel this much happiness and excitement, he couldn't help let it affect him too.

Zipping up the last of the bags, Jasper placed his arm over Edward's shoulder and grinned, "Feels surreal doesn't it."

Edward nodded, "can't believe we're finally leaving."

Jasper squeezed him gently and ruffled his hair playfully before letting go; his brother's happy mood was making him giddy. Edward pouted and quickly moved away from his brother, scowling at him.

"Come on bro, you know I don't like it when you do that. It makes my hair look even messier."

Jasper smirked and shrugged, "must be why I like doing it." Edward stuck his tongue out at him.

Emmett walked back in, holding a glass of water and tablets. He walked to Edward and handed him the medicine, "here you go Ed, best if you take this. We don't want you're fever going up again."

"But I feel fine," said Edward.

Jasper rolled his eyes, "for now Ed, but best to play it safe."

Edward just looked at the medicine; he didn't really want to take it. He hated being dependant on tablets. He had too much of them in his life.

Emmett nudged him gently with a smile, "come one Ed, you won't need them for long."

Edward sighed and then nodded, "okay," he took the tablets reluctantly, placed them in his mouth and swallowed them with the water.

"There, was that so hard?" said Emmett cheerfully, making Jasper snicker.

Edward wanted to say 'yes' just to spite him, but thought against it and gave his brother a mock glare.

"Right," started Emmett and looked at his brothers, "you guys ready?"

Jasper snorted, "Do you really need to ask, let's get out of here."

They all picked up their bags and Jasper and Emmett strapped their guitars across their backs securely.

"Aunt Giselle is in her room," said Emmett, "I heard some shuffling in there; I think she's still in bed. So be quiet."

Edward and Jasper nodded and Emmett looked into the hall way before making his way out of their room and towards the stairs.

Jasper went out next followed closely by Edward, who shut the door slowly behind them. They waited for a second for any noises that could indicate that their aunt had woken up. After a few more seconds of nothing, they relaxed and quickly started to creep to the stairs.

Edward bit his lower lip nervously as he glanced back. He hoped his aunt didn't come out; he really didn't want to see her. "What if we get caught?" he asked nervously, looking back at his brothers.

Jasper looked over his shoulder at his young brother and smirked, patting his guitar case, "if she does, I'll just give her a good bass on the head with this."

He winked and Edward chuckled. Emmett shushed them and they slowly made their way down the stairs, making sure to avoid the ones that creaked loudly. They stepped into the foyer and collected their jackets.

"Give me a second, I need to get the food," said Emmett and he made his way down to the kitchen.

Edward sighed, just a few more minutes and they'll finally be free. He glanced at the entrance to the living room and felt his chest tighten. His feet started to move and soon he was standing in the arch way to the living room.

His eyes instantly went to the broken piano and the tightness intensified. It looked so dull… so dead, lying on the floor, its pieces scattered around it. Edward sighed; he never got to play it as much as he wanted to. He would have loved to play all his favourite songs without fearing his aunt's anger. He wished he could have been able to keep his mother and grandmother's signatures, but it was just one of the many things their aunt had to take away from them.

His eyes then drifted unwillingly to the corner behind the piano and a shiver ran through him. He could still feel her hot, alcoholic breath on him and how her hands touched and tightened around his neck, slowly trying to squeeze his life away. But the words she had spoken and the way she had looked at him with such venom, it affected him more than he was willing to admit.

"_You're nothing but a burden Edward. Always holding them back, always being sick. They're getting sick and tired of__you."_

_"You're a burden boy don't forget that." _

"_You'll be all alone."_

_"They'll leave just like your parents did and you'll be left behind."_

Edward wrapped his arms around himself and squeezed his eyes shut when he felt the tears well up. His aunt's words echoed in his mind and he desperately wanted to get rid of them. He knew they weren't true; his aunt lied, just to see him suffer. His brothers loved him and they were leaving together. But even thinking about what she said made him feel sick with guilt and fear.

A hand suddenly rested on his shoulder causing him to jump in surprise, he turned and was met with Jasper's caring and sympathetic brown eyes.

"Come on Edward, everything's going to be alright," said Jasper as Emmett came up from behind him, the backpack looking bigger than before. Edward blinked at his brothers before smiling with a nod.

"Yeah, everything is going to look up from here now." He had to believe that.

"Exactly," grinned Emmett and he gave his little brother a one armed hug, before leading him away from the living room. His and Jasper's gaze swept to the damaged piano as well and their chests constricted painfully, they didn't think they'll ever forget what Edward told them and what happened. But they'll make sure that their little brother and neither one of them would ever have to go through something like that ever again.

Jasper opened the front door and moved out, one hand on the door handle ready to close it when they all stepped outside. He smiled reassuringly at Edward who smiled back with a nod and repositioning the bags over his shoulder and he and Emmett followed Jasper out.

Jasper gently closed the door after making sure he didn't hear their aunt moving around inside. With one last look at their grandparent's house, they turned their backs to it and speed up their pace, out the garden and into the streets.

The sun was already out, rising slowly in the sky and the streets were empty. It was still early and it was the weekend, so they knew not a lot of people would be out at this time. They ran off their street and Edward quickly noticed the route Emmett was leading them on.

"We're going to the garage?" he asked confused.

Emmett looked behind him and smiled, "yeah."

"Why?" he asked.

"We'll be crashing there for a while and don't worry I've got everything we need," replied Emmett with a grin.

Edward nodded, but was still confused. He trusted his brothers, but at the moment he had other things to worry about. The tickle in his throat was getting stronger and the more he suppressed the urge to cough, the more his throat hurt. But he didn't want his brothers to worry, he could tell they had a lot on their mind and he didn't want to add to it. He did enough of that yesterday.

Emmett quickly led them to the garage, they had to cross a few blocks, but it didn't take them too long to get there. As they neared it; they noticed it was still closed.

The building was large in length and the large silver door which opened to the main garage was shut. Edward and Jasper had only been in the garage a few times, it was mainly where Emmett and the other employees worked. It was large enough to hold ten cars and a few motorbikes and was well equipped with everything a repair garage needed.

But Emmett didn't go to the main entrance; he suddenly side stepped and walked onto a narrow path just to the side of the building. Jasper and Edward followed; they had never been down this way before and were curious to where their eldest brother was leading them.

"Are you sure anyone's awake?" asked Edward as they passed the large window that showed the inside of the garage. All the lights were off, no machinery was on and he couldn't see anyone inside. A tiny cough escaped through his mouth and he grimaced at the pain in his throat.

"He's awake, don't worry about that," said Emmett as he turned a corner and walked up a few steps that lead to a door. They all stopped in front of it and Emmett knocked a few times.

"Where are we going to go anyways?" asked Edward as they placed their bags on the floor and waited.

"The one place where Aunt Giselle will never go or to think to find us," said Jasper and he and Emmett smirked.

Edward blinked at his brothers, slightly bewildered. They had practically travelled through the whole of America, where else was there that they hadn't been before or where their aunt couldn't find them.

Edward gave another cough and it soon developed into a small coughing fit. His brothers quickly jumped into action. Emmett took a water bottle out of his bag and Jasper gently patted his back until his coughing died down.

"Here Ed," said Emmett and he passed the open bottle of water to his little brother. Edward straightened up and gratefully took the bottle.

"Thanks," he drank the water greedily and licked his lips, passing the bottle back.

"You okay?" asked Jasper with concern.

Edward gave him a reassuring smile, "sorry, I couldn't hold it in any longer."

Both Emmett and Jasper frowned at him, "then don't hold it in Ed, it'll only make it worse. Better it comes out than stays in," said Emmett sternly.

Edward nodded and smiled sheepishly. Quickly wanting to change the subjected, he remembered what they were talking about and still bewildered, asked, "anyways what place were you talking about Jazz?"

Jasper and Emmett looked at each other, before grins spread on their faces. Jasper ruffled his little brother's hair and winked, "you'll find out soon."

Edward pouted at them and before he could say anything the door opened and they turned. At the door stood a very tall –taller than Emmett– and muscular man. He was bald, tanned and sporting a thin moustache and bread. He was wearing dark blue overalls and had a large grin in place.

"Big Mac," greeted Emmett broadly and gave a strong hand shake.

"Emmett, I see you finally made it. Any longer and I would have thought you've changed your mind," smiled Big Mac, his voice was deep and rough as he talked and the two youngest gave amused smiles.

Emmett shook his head with a scoff, "it's half six in the morning Mac and changing my mind was never going to happen."

Big Mac chuckled, but they knew the older man knew full well why they were leaving. He looked at Jasper and Edward who continued to stand silently behind Emmett and with a smile he urged them to come inside. "Come on in."

They all picked up their luggage and followed Big Mac down a hallway and through a door.

"Have you got the tickets?"

"Of course," said Mac and he led them into what appeared to be his living room. "Make yourself comfortable, you'll be crashing here for few hours."

The room was small, not as big as their grandparent's living room, but bigger than their bedroom. There was one large brown couch sitting in the middle of the room in front of a television. Books shelves, different vehicle parts, knick knacks of various kinds, photos of people and cars were scattered around the room. The morning sun made the orange painted walls glow and the two youngest thought the room was a lot cosier and homier than their place.

Jasper and Edward settled onto the couch after dumping their bags on the floor near the door. Edward yawned as he leaned into the couch and Jasper stretched. He and Emmett had woken up a lot earlier than Edward and Jasper could feel the tiredness gripping on to him. But before he could let himself or Edward sleep, he needed his brother to eat something.

He quickly rummages through one of Emmett's bags and got out a food container. He had cooked some pancakes before waking Edward up and if nothing else he knew Edward would eat some pancakes.

"Here Ed, you better eat all of it," said Jasper and he handed the container to Edward.

Edward green eyes lit up at seeing the pancakes and took them from his brother, "thanks Jazz."

Jasper smiled as Edward started to dig in and he took out the water bottle and had some before passing it to Edward.

He looked toward his older brother and watched as he and Big Mac talked about something or another. He heard something about car parts, so he didn't think it was a conversation he wanted to be a part of. He loved car, no doubts there, but he was more of a motorbike person, than sitting in a container with four wheels person.

Now a motorbike was more freedom than a car, the rush of feeling the wind in his hair, leaning left and right nearly touching the ground and the speed. He had only driven a motorbike a few times after getting his licence. He always wanted to get one, but with the way they had moved around so much, it wouldn't have been a good idea.

"Jazz?" a voice interrupted his day dreaming and he looked at his young brother. Edward was smiling at him, the bruises on his cheek stretching and he wondered if they still hurt him.

"Yeah Ed?"

Edward handed him the container back, there were still some pancakes left and Edward urged him to have some. "You could always buy one now Jazz."

Jasper smiled, of course his brother knew what he was thinking about, "you think?" he asked as he took a bite of one of the pancakes.

Edward chuckled, "have you saved up enough for it?"

"Nearly," he leaned his head back onto the couch, his expression thoughtful. A motorbike, a good motorbike didn't come cheap, he had been saving the money he got ever since he started working in the book shop. But it still wasn't enough to buy one and he knew his first priority when it came to the money was for his brothers.

"I'm sorry I couldn't help. I know you wanted one ever since you did that test drive for Big Mac," said Edward.

Jasper nodded, "I'll get there Ed, don't worry about it. I'll just find another job, hopefully with good pay."

Edward nodded and coughed a little, "speaking of job, what about Mrs Appleton and Mrs Hudson?" he asked concerned for the two old sweet ladies.

Jasper sighed, "I already called them, they said they'll be fine without us and well I can't disagree too much. Those old girls can take care of themselves." He grinned at a certain memory and Edward laughed as he remembered it too.

"Can't argue there, but," Edward sobered up quickly, "did they ask why?" he really didn't want them to know about their home life and especially why they were leaving, but on the other hand he didn't want to lie to them either.

"They did," said Jasper with a frown, "I told them we were moving again. They already know we moved around a lot because of Aunt Giselle, so this time was no different."

It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the whole truth either. Jasper and Edward were just glad the two old sisters never meet their Aunt. It definitely wouldn't have gone down well, not with how stubborn or motherly the two sisters could get.

Edward smiled as he remembered how nice and caring they were, it always felt like they were pampered by their grandmothers whenever they were with them, "I'm going to miss them."

Jasper nodded, "yeah me too," he grinned, "and all the free books I could get too."

Edward lightly punched him for that, but laughed. He looked up to see Emmett laughing at whatever Big Mac had said and the older man cuffed their brother over the head, grumbling good naturedly.

"How come we have to stay here for a few hours?" asked Edward after a while and he turned his head to Jasper, who finished off the rest of the pancakes and placed the container back into the bag. "Could you tell me now where we're going?"

Emmett grinned as he walked up to his brother and sat down on Edward's other side and Jasper grinned at him brightly. Both his brother's blue and brown eyes were shining in mirth and joy. Edward couldn't help but feel the excitement and anticipation well up inside him as he waited for an answer. Whatever they had to say was something he knew he'd like.

Big Mac gave a deep chuckle and moved toward Edward as he took something out of his pocket. "Here you go kiddo," he brought out his large hand, showing three tickets and held them out for him to take.

Puzzled Edward looked at Emmet, who only continued to grin before looking back at Big Mac and took the tickets from him.

Edward looked at them carefully and his eyes widen in surprise and shock, "no way."

He quickly turned to his brothers; "really?" they both nodded and chuckled at his surprised and happy expression.

He looked back at the tickets. They were actually going there? For real? The one place their Aunt definitely wouldn't look for them, the one place that held more meaning and memories for them than any other place they ever went to. He couldn't believe it. He felt a smile spread onto his face and it continued to grow.

He looked back at his brothers, excitedly. Warmth flooded his body and he felt completely giddy and relieved, "we're going to Forks?"

Emmett and Jasper nodded again and let their excitement show, "no place better, don't you think?" said Jasper with a grin.

"We're going to Forks? We're going to Forks! WE'RE GOING TO FORKS," Edward exclaimed happily and leaped at his brothers. "I can't believe we're really going to Forks."

Emmett laughed and hugged his brothers, "Surreal isn't it."

Edward nodded with a laugh. He looked back down at the ticket, he couldn't wait to finally go to the one place he knew they'll be happy and safe. The place all three brothers longed to go ever since they moved in with their aunt. Jasper and Emmett each took their own tickets, smiling at it before placing it safely in their pockets and Edward did the same.

"I can't wait. When are we going? Can we leave now?" asked Edward enthusiastically. He knew he was acting childish, but he didn't care.

Big Mac laughed at Edward's eagerness, "Eager aren't you kid. Your flight doesn't leave until ten and you three till got…" he looked at the clock sitting on the shelf. "Three hours. I'll be driving you there, so don't worry about anything. Just get some rest; you boys look like you'll need it."

All three of them couldn't disagree with the older man there. They still felt tired, but the eagerness and excitement to finally leave Phoenix and get as far away from their aunt as soon as possible was just too great for them to calm themselves down and relax.

"We can't thank you enough for everything Mac," said Emmett sincerely, his voice laced with gratitude. If his Boss hadn't been so understanding of everything he didn't know how these past two years would have passed in Phoenix.

He remembered when the older man first found out about the abuse, he had come into work tired and aching for a week. He remembered he had a broken arm then and he tried his best to hide it, but it had been affecting his work and Mac had noticed. That week hadn't been their best; Giselle had broken up from her boyfriend and got fired all in the same day and he had taken the brunt of Aunt Giselle's anger.

Mac had called him to his office aka his living room and had confronted him about it. He had tried his best to hide it, but Mac had been too observant and had pointed out every suspicious occurrence that happened. It didn't help that Mac saw the bruises he had on his wrist where his aunt had gripped him tightly and dug her nails into.

The older man wouldn't let him leave; even when he reassured him countless times that everything was fine. At the end Emmett had to tell him, he tried downplaying it, but Mac was very perceptive and it took all of Emmett's convincing to stop the man from reporting Giselle to the police.

After explaining everything to him, Mac had been a great help. Jasper and Edward didn't know him well enough like Emmett, but they trusted their brother and if he trusted Mac then that was good enough for him.

Big Mac smiled and patted Emmett on the shoulder, "don't worry about it kiddo. It's the least I could do with all the business you brought in. I'm sure going to miss that." Emmett laughed and Jasper and Edward grinned.

"Well I'm definitely going to miss working here," said Emmett earnestly.

Big Mac nodded and ruffled Emmett short hair. Emmett grumbled and swatted his hand away, "don't do that Mac. Do it to them," he pointed to his seventeen and eighteen year old brothers, "they're age appropriate."

Big Mac laughed his deep laugh and shook his head, "go on then boys, get some rest. You'll need it for the journey," he turned his gaze to Edward, who yawned again and flinched slightly at the pain in his cheek. Big Mac frowned, he could clearly see the bruises on the boy's cheek and neck and he could only imagine what the young lad had been through.

If only Emmett had let him help them more, but Mac understood the fear of separation the oldest of the Cullen siblings had. He might not have agreed with it, but he reluctantly watched from the side lines. Emmett was seventeen when he found out about the abuse, which made Jasper sixteen and Edward fifteen. Emmett had made it clear to him that if the authorities found out, they would be separated through the social system and Emmett couldn't stand the thought of his brothers being adopted or fostered by other adults.

Big Mac sighed, but then smiled. He walked to the door, he had a few errands to run before dropping his ex-employee and his brothers off to the airport, "let me know if you need anything kiddo," he said looking at Emmett, who was watching his brothers lean on each other and yawn simultaneously, finally letting the tiredness over take them. Emmett looked at his ex-boss and nodded.

"Thanks Mac."

The bald man could only nod as he watched Emmett get comfortable, draping an arm over the back of the couch and leaning his head back. Big Mac opened the door and left, if this is how much help Emmett wanted from him than he'd be damned if he didn't give it to him.

Big Mac woke the brothers up an hour before leaving; they gathered all their things, the two oldest made sure the youngest had taken his medication and checked his temperature. Mac watched with amusement at the faces the youngest made and how fussy and protective the two oldest were being. But he could see how grateful and happy the bronze haired teen was of his brothers, so the oldest man resisted the urge to tease them.

They hopped into Mac's big Land Rover and made it just in time to the airport. They checked in, got their luggage weighed and made it to the right gate. All three brothers were happy to finally leave and thanked Big Mac continuously for his help. He only waved them off and told them to call him if they ever needed anything.

As they boarded the plane, he waved them off and couldn't help but wish the three brothers the best of luck.

Hopefully this was exactly what they needed.

* * *

"Alice, how much longer?" came a whiny voice and a head hitting the dash board of a car.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," said a hurried voice and a short pixie black haired girl jumped into the car with numerous shopping bags.

"Got everything?" asked a more calmed voice from behind the steering wheel.

"Yep," said Alice cheerfully, "can't believe the sale they had. I love the dress you got Bella."

Bella lifted her head off the dash board and smile at her friend, "I'm just glad it wasn't so expensive. I wouldn't have got it if you didn't force me."

"Oh come on, it really suits you. Don't you think Rosalie?"

The girl behind the wheel smiled, tossing her long blond hair behind her shoulder, "no doubt, much better than your usual attire."

Bella pouted, "I don't know what you got against my wardrobe, all my clothes are comfortable to wear."

Rosalie laughed, started the car and drove out of the parking, "and now you got something that'll not only make you feel comfortable but also make you much better looking."

Rosalie smiled jokingly at her brown haired friend, who only grumbled, her pout still in place and strapped on her seat belt.

"Don't worry Bella, you look one of a kind in everything you wear," said Alice from the back seat and then teasingly added, "All the guys love that about you."

Bella smiled at her first comment, but then blanched horribly at her second comment and she felt her cheeks get warm. "Don't say stuff like that."

Alice smiled humorously, "well it's true." Bella gave her an annoyed look, clearly tell her not to start. Alice grinned and instead started to rummage through her shopping bags, "alright fine, but seriously you should go out once in a while."

Bella sighed, "I do go out."

"With us," clarified Rosalie as she drove the car.

"Not with a guy," inputted Alice and she leaned back against the seat.

"I'm not interested Alice. All the guys are nice, but I just don't feel anything for them," said Bella solicitously.

Alice nodded understandingly and Rosalie sighed. Fork High School had nice guys, but all three girls felt nothing for them. Friendship was the furthest they'd ever go with them. They all had dated at some point, Rosalie more than Alice and Bella, but it never lasted.

"Well anyways we still got four weeks of summer vacation before school starts again. You guys got any plans?" asked Alice.

"Not really, I was thinking about getting a job," said Bella.

"What? At Newton's Sporting shop? I know they got a vacancy up, but you're not seriously going for it are you?" asked Rosalie incredulously.

Bella smiled sheepishly, "well I could do with the money. It'll be a good chance to save up for college."

"Oh," Alice perked up immediately, "how about we go hiking? We haven't done that in a while. It'll be fun."

"Hiking?" both Bella and Rosalie didn't find that fun.

"Can't you think of anything else?" stated Rosalie.

"I'll fall all over the place Alice," protested Bella and then, "were you even listening?"

Alice just waved her hand dismissively with a grin, "sure I was, and the sporting shop just gave me the idea of hiking. Come on it'll be fun. Please, please, please."

Alice was bouncing on the seat waiting for her friends to agree. Bella and Rosalie looked at each other before sighing.

"Or we could go on another shopping trip," added Alice offhandedly.

"Let's go hiking, I'll risk it," said Bella quickly.

Rosalie grinned and nodded, "I don't mind the shopping actually." She didn't mind the hiking either, but she always loved riling up Bella, sometimes it was quite comical.

"ROSE, PLEASE NO," yelped Bella instantly, "my feet are still hurting from today's shopping trip. We've been shopping since eleven and it's…" she looked at the time on the car, "four o'clock."

Alice and Rosalie giggled, "It's settled. We're going hiking," said Alice excitedly.

Rosalie shrugged, but agreed and Bella relaxed into her seat, smiling. She would take bruised knees in the woods over shopping trips with a shopaholic aka Alice any day. She had already been dragged to five different shopping trips since the holiday had started and all of them have lasted nearly the whole day. Maybe hiking would be a refreshing change, she had to make sure she had something warm to wear and maybe bring an umbrella if it rained.

The rest of the trip home was filled with Rosalie, Bella and Alice chatting and singing along with the radio or Rosalie's CD player and discussing this and that to fill the time.

When they finally got into Forks, Alice suddenly stopped talking in mid-conversation and had a blank expression on her face for a few seconds before seemingly coming back.

"Alice? You alright?" asked Bella, it wasn't the first time Alice would suddenly space out, but it either led to something good or something bad and she was normally always right.

Alice tilted her head to the side, a thoughtful look in place before it turned to excitement. "I'm fine, but I think… something or someone new is coming."

* * *

**(A/N) When is Alice ever wrong? **_**(Laughs)**_**, well there you have it, the girls are finally here. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I hope it earns as much reviews as it did for the last.**

**The girls reached Forks around about 4-5-ish o'clock, which is the same time the boys would have reached Forks as well **_**(grins)**_**. I'm going to use the same travel route Bella took in Twilight from Phoenix to Forks. It just makes it so much easier **_**(smiles sheepishly).**_

**I really look forward to reading what you guys think, thank you for the wait and the great reviews, I haven't replied back to anyone yet, but I will do. It's past midnight and my head wants to hit the pillow **_**(laughs)**_**. Like ****always ****constructive criticism is encouraged and so is advice. Sorry for any spelling or grammar mistakes, I tried my best.**

**Oh oh one more thing, does anyone know the name of the waitress in the restaurant Bella and Charlie go to in the first movie or book – Twilight?**


	6. Settling In

**Yes I'm alive **_**(smiles sheepishly)**_** and yes I know it's been… 3 months and I'm very, very late, but I'm back and with a UPDATE **_**(grins)**_**. My health hasn't been the best for the last two months and there had been A LOT of stress with my work references **_**(grumbles)**_**. But I managed to sort it out and it took longer than I expected. This chapter had limped along with me, but I finally got it done.**

**Thank you soooo much to the 6 readers who reviewed my last chapter and those who PMed me **_**(smiles)**_**. You guys are so AWESOME and I'm real grateful for your patients and great reviews.**

**I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as you did the last and hopefully I'll still be here for the next one because Rosalie has gone to read this story and I'm pretty sure she ain't going to be happy with what I've done to her husband **_**(laughs nervously and inches away from the door)**_** or she might get too bored and split **_**(shrugs)**_**. **

**Anyways on with the next chapter, enjoy…**

* * *

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own anything of the Twilight saga, that's ALL Stephenie Meyer.**

* * *

"Thanks for the lift," said Emmett kindly as he and his brothers pilled out of the jeep with their luggage.

The older man, a good friend of Big Mac, nodded with a smile, "aye, you take care of yourselves lads. I'll be lettin' Mac know you've made it here safe."

Emmett smiled, "thanks," and Edward and Jasper smiled gratefully from behind him.

Giving one last nod, Big Mac's friend started up his jeep and drove off. The three Cullen brothers adjusted their hold on their travel bags and started walking down the road.

"How far is it again?" asked Edward as his gaze swiped though the surrounding forest. It had just recently stopped raining, so the earth around them was damp and lush. He took a steady breathe in and sighed happily at the earthy grassy smell. Living in the heat for so long, he craved for the greenness.

Emmett looked further on and smiled at what he saw, "we're not far." He quickened his pace and his brothers quickly followed.

The rest of the walk was short and slowly three bright, happy, _genuine_ smiles graced each brother's faces and they took in the view in front of them.

A large and white rectangular, three stories tall house stood in front of them, surrounded by trees and open fields, looking as welcoming and graceful as they remembered. The large deep, white porch surrounding the house beckoned them to come in.

They all took the view in hungrily, each of them remembering the time they all came with their loved ones, their mother and father, their Uncle Carlisle and Aunt Esme, their grandparents. The fun they had, the Christmases they celebrated within those walls and the joy and happiness they felt surrounded by people who loved them and wanted them. The best part was that Aunt Giselle had never set one foot into the Cullen's holiday home.

Her voice, her presence could no longer taint them here. The house was completely clean of her and Edward happiness was too great when he realised that. He had to stop the tears from leaking out of his eyes; he didn't want his brother to get fussy over him just because he was getting overemotional about this.

"It's so good to see this place again," breathed out Jasper as his gaze swept through the house and trees.

Emmett and Edward nodded and smiled.

"Come on, let's go in," said Emmett and they silently walked up to the house. Emmett put his luggage down in front of the door and started rummaging through his pockets. His younger brothers waited expectantly and they rolled their eyes as Emmett grumbled at the random junk he had hidden in his pockets. A moment later, a sound of triumph escaped Emmett's mouth and he held out a key.

He gave his brothers a sheepish grin before turning to the door and opening it. They had inherited a lot of things after their parents passing and the Cullen's family holiday home was one of them. Emmett had gotten the keys when they had met with their family lawyer and he had silently wished they could have visited this place sooner and in desperate time it would have been a glimpse of hope for the three brothers. But now, when all three last descendants of Cullen walked into the house and their gaze took in every nook and cranny of their favourite place, much more than hope filled their minds and hearts.

The whole first floor was open and bright, the happy and familiar colours filled them with joy. They quickly dumped their luggage near the stairs and practically tore through the first floor. Happy memory after happy memory jumped to the forefront of their minds when they entered each room.

The large living area brought memories of Christmas trees, colourful lights, presents, family sitting together enjoying eggnog and hot chocolate. Edward could remember the music their mother played, their Aunt Esme delicious and warm cookies and their father and Uncle Carlisle's stories and joyous voices recollecting their past Christmases. He remembered how he and his brothers hung onto every word, listened to the music so keenly, they always got lost in it and how excitedly they looked forward to their next visit.

He sat on the long black and soft couch, letting his body relax and willed his headache to ease. He could hear his brothers moving around and he let himself be lulled by the sound. He had tried to get some sleep on the plane rides, but he was just too excited to let his exhaustion take him, but now, when he was in the place he always wanted to be in, he let himself drift.

Emmett walked into the dining room and his already big smile broadened, threatening to split his face. The meals they had, the people that sat in these very chairs and the love and joy they felt came rushing back to him. He didn't let the thought of him and his brothers never being able to have those sorts of meals here again, but comforted in the fact that this time it will be the three of them and never anyone who would want to hurt his brothers.

Jasper stepped out of the office behind the central staircase, he chuckled at the memories of their uncle Carlisle and their dad having many discussions and comical –in his eyes– arguments in that room and his smile broadened as he watched Emmett walk toward him from the kitchen, his older brother's smile matching his own.

"Everything is just as how we remembered it Em," said Jasper excitedly. He usually never got this hyper or giddy about something, his brothers' emotions weren't really helping him either, but he didn't care, he welcomed it.

Emmett chuckled at his brother's enthusiasm, "yeah," he let his eyes swipe through the office before returning back to his brother who had turned to examine a painting. He watched with interest as Jasper touched the picture, then ran his hand over it and the edges. He looked curiously at his hand, rubbing his fingers together.

He didn't have to wait long for his brother to clue him in on what he was doing. "Have you noticed how clean everything is?" asked Jasper turning to look at Emmett.

Emmett nodded, he did notice, "yeah, I think someone must have hired cleaners to come in and keep the house from collecting dust."

Jasper agreed, he liked to hope he knew who the 'someone' was but he didn't want to get his hopes up. "You think mum or dad hired anyone before they...?"

Emmett shook his head; he didn't think it would have been their parents. Even if it was a holiday home, mostly used during Christmas, he knew for a fact that their parents came more frequently here as well as another couple. There was no need for a cleaner then, but time had changed... a lot and with their parents gone, they wouldn't have gotten the chance to hire anyone even if they wanted to. Their Aunt Giselle hated this place, would have let it rot to the ground, so it definitely wasn't her, but he had a pretty good idea who would have wanted to keep this house intact even if they couldn't or maybe wouldn't visit.

"My bets are on Uncle Carlisle or Aunt Esme, especially Aunt Esme," he chuckled lightly. He knew how much their Aunt loved to decorate and design. She had instantly fallen in love with this place when Carlisle had first brought her here and he remembered that story being told many times when he was young.

Jasper smiled lightly, it was kind of a bitter memory and a bitter thought. How often had he wished their Uncle Carlisle would somehow find them and take them away from their abusive aunt, especially on their worst days when their hope dwindled down to nearly nothing.

"Do you think we'll ever get to see them?" the quiet question left his mouth before he could stop it.

Emmett looked at him for a moment and his gaze softened, "we will," he stated firmly, letting his optimism show in his voice and reassured his brother. He knew Jasper missed them as much as he and Edward did.

Jasper sighed and looked down, "how can you be so sure? It's been so long." Too long, it's been too long, nearly over ten years since the last time they saw their favourite aunt and uncle. Sometimes he would think they had abandoned them, believing in their aunt Giselle's words that Carlisle and Esme didn't want them either. He knew he shouldn't let those words get to him, Giselle loved making them suffer with her sharp tongue, but her words always lingered and got to him.

"Hey," Jasper was jolted out of his thought by Emmett's voice and he looked up at his brother. Emmett gave him a stern look, clearly understanding what he was thinking about and why. "I'm not, but I would like to think so," Emmett grinned; his goofy grin then and Jasper rolled his eyes at him.

Where Emmett was the optimistic one, Jasper was the pessimistic one and it was Edward who kept them from getting too high or too low.

"Come on, we better find Eddy," encouraged Emmett and patted his young brother's shoulder, "and stop being so morbid."

Jasper huffed at his brother, "I'm not morbid. I'm realistic." They both started walking to the living area.

Emmett just nodded, slightly sage like, "of course you're not morbid, you just like thinking about negative stuff for the fun of it. A realistic killjoy."

"What?" Jasper spluttered and punched his older brother on the shoulder. He knew Emmett was just playing around, but he didn't like being called a killjoy.

"Well you're an overly optimistic baboon," he countered spitefully, although holding no real heat behind his words.

Emmett didn't look fazed, "I thought I was the overprotective grizzly bear?"

"Oh that too, but you're an overly optimistic baboon as well."

"Why can't I be an overly optimistic polar bear?"

"Why must you always compare yourself to a bear? Can't you think of any other animal?"

Emmett just smirked, "bears suit me better."

"Oh really? Because I was thinking more along the lines of a hippo or a rhino."

"Because they're strong," stated Emmett pompously.

Jasper let his brother grin for a few more seconds before answering, "No because they're bulky."

Emmett blanched quickly and Jasper smirked, "are you calling me fat?"

Jasper shrugged, ready to bolt if needed, "you said it, not me."

"That's what you were implying."

"Who's to say?"

"I know that's what you were implying."

"If you say so," Jasper acted nonchalant; inwardly he enjoyed irritating his brother.

Emmett's eyes twitched slightly, "fine. I know how to settle this."

"Oh really? How?"

"I'll ask Edward," this time Emmett's smirk came out bigger and he quickened his pace to where he knew his youngest brother was.

"Now that's cheating," proclaimed Jasper hurriedly, chasing after him. "Just admit a hippo suits you better."

Emmett scoffed and they both rushed into the living area. Their eyes roamed over the familiar area and smiles split their faces. Memories filled with family and comfort filled their minds and they relished in the feeling.

Their eyes landed on the black sleek piano sitting at the far end of the room. The light through the large windows made the surface glow and Emmett and Jasper's eyes softened. They knew their mother's signature was on it and only hers, but hopefully soon they'll be adding another one.

Jasper did another quick scan of the living room, not finding his young brother anywhere. He was about to say something when the sound of soft coughing caught their attention.

They both went over to the couch and grinned when they saw Edward curled up and coughing gently before relaxing and giving out an irritated moan.

Emmett chuckled gently, "I think his throat is still irritating him."

Jasper nodded, "it would be better if he sleeps in a bed. We still got two more floors to explore."

"And bedrooms to claim," grinned Emmett and he moved to his youngest brother and shook him awake. "Eddy, come on wake up. We just got here and you need to pick a room."

Edward groaned, burying his face into the cushion of the couch before blinking up at his oldest brother.

"Come on Ed," encouraged Emmett, "let's go find ourselves a room. I think we all need some sleep."

When those words slipped out of his mouth, Emmett and Jasper finally noticed the exhaustion creeping into their bodies.

"Can't I just stay on the couch?" groaned Edward as he slowly sat up, he really didn't want to get up yet, his body was demanding him to fall back on the couch and fall asleep.

Jasper chuckled, moved forward and helped Edward up, trying his best to ignore the pouts forming on the bronze haired teen's face. "Come on, I think I know which room you'll like."

It was a half an hour later when all three brothers finally situated themselves into comfortable beds and lapsed into sleep. Emmett and Jasper claimed the two bedrooms on the second floor and Edward promptly crashed himself onto the bed on the third floor.

They had quickly scanned the floors, relishing in the memories when they walked into Carlisle and their father's office, Esme's study and the family library on the second floor. The third floor had consisted of Carlisle and Esme's room and a smaller library with computers.

Everything from the hallways to the closets were designed and decorated with style and hominess. But the boys were too exhausted to take in the finer details of their favourite home and were out like a light until the early morning of the next day.

* * *

The first week was spent with Emmett and Jasper watching over Edward like a couple of hawks. They wouldn't let him do anything or go anywhere and only let him play on the piano and rest.

This time Edward didn't complain or protest. He did as his brothers asked and relished in their kind words and comfort. As hard as he tried to forget the harsh words spoken to him by their aunt, he just couldn't. He didn't want to be a burden, he didn't want to hold them back and he didn't want his brothers to ever resent him for anything.

He knew he was being stupid, thinking the way he was. He knew Jasper could feel when he started brooding about these thoughts, could feel his fear whenever they walked away from him, even if it was just to get something from the next room. Edward tried to suppress these emotions; he didn't want his brothers to worry. But they knew, they knew him all too well and he couldn't help but smile whenever his brothers would cuff him over the head and start rambling on about meaningless things to get his mind off of everything.

There was nothing to fear in their new home, there was no Aunt here to terrorise them, neglect them and abuse them. They didn't need to dread the next day or the next hour and they relished in the knowledge that they were all safe. The whole first week was spent just relaxing.

Edward couldn't contain his joy when he got to play on his mother's piano, this one solely belonged to their mother and he was going to make sure nothing was ever going to happen to it. The first week was filled with music, laughter and joy. Emmett and Jasper took out their guitars and they all played together or they would lounge about, stringing along melodies they could remember and experimented with their own rhythms.

It was the most relaxed they had ever felt. It was a feeling they thought they'll never get the chance to experience again. The next week followed on, Jasper and Emmett had ventured out into Forks now and again. They had to restock on their food supply, as most of the cupboards and the fridge in the kitchen were empty. They had managed to scrap enough for the first few days with the food they had brought along and bought on their way to Forks.

But now they had to venture into town to get some more groceries. Their home was a few miles away from the stores, but they didn't care. All three brothers loved the silence and peace and most importantly the greenery surrounding them. The less anything reminded them about their aunt, the better.

Jasper and Emmett travelled into town a couple of times during the second week. Emmett had managed to find the keys to the garage doors after he misplaced them when they had started unpacking.

Jasper and Edward had rolled their eyes at their older brother, Emmett was occasionally messy and lazy and usually he had too much junk with him, so something was always bound to get lost.

But when he did find them and opened the garage doors, they couldn't believe what they saw. A large red Jeep Wrangler and a small silver Volvo S60R stood proudly in front of them. The colours shined brightly, looking as if they were brand new or freshly coated and waxed.

"The jeep is mine," Emmett had proclaimed loudly and hurriedly as he quickly made his way to the Wrangler and started inspecting it from every angle.

"How long do you think these cars have been here?" Edward had asked and he marvelled over the Volvo.

Jasper had shrugged, "don't know." The only reason they could think of was that their parents or Carlisle and Esme must have bought them at some point and had kept them in good condition.

As Edward walked around the car, slightly amused as he watched his older brothers try to find the keys for the cars around the spacious garage and its many cabinets, he spotted another vehicle leaning against the wall and a bright smile split his face.

"Jasper, come look at this," he called his brother quickly and Jasper came to his side in a few seconds.

"What is it?"

Edward only grinned and pointed ahead of them. Following his young brother's finger, Jasper gaped as he saw a silver slick motorcycle leaning against the wall.

"No way," he gaped, "is that a Ducati 848?"

Edward only shrugged and he laughed as Jasper lunged at the motorcycle and started examining it. It was made official then –after they found the keys– that Emmett and Edward were going to handle the Wrangler and Volvo and Jasper had the pleasure of taking care of the Ducati.

So now travelling to buy food supplies and such was made easier, but Emmett and Jasper always made sure that one of them stayed with Edward. They were glad Edward wasn't complaining so much about them fussing over him and he kept himself occupied with tweaking the cars, playing the piano and exploring the rooms and book shelves in the house, most of the time accompanied with Jasper. But they knew the reason for that and every time they thought about it, it only made them hate their aunt all the more.

But Edward was getting better, into the second week, his temperature was back to normal, he didn't suffer from any headaches or nausea and his throat was well on its way to being fully healed. The marks on his cheek and neck were slowly fading; they were now a light pink against his pale skin, but it was still a horrid reminder of what happened and why and he wished they would disappear faster.

And that's when the nightmares started.

Now nightmares, for each of the brothers, weren't an uncommon thing. However this time they wouldn't have each other waking them up from their horrid dreams or comforting each other afterwards. They had always shared a room since they moved in with Aunt Giselle; there was nothing they could hide from each other because they were always together.

The Cullen home provided them with their own rooms. But now, that all too knowing and constant comfort wouldn't be there right away.

So it didn't come as a surprise when at half three at night, Edward bolted up in bed, panting and covered in sweat as the rain pummelled down against his windows. Edward stared into the darkness around his room and tried to suppress the shivers that racked his body.

His eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness in his room and his mind filled with the unwanted images of his dream. The nightmare felt so real, his aunt's words rang throughout his head, he was all alone and he could practically feel her cold, cruel hands tighten around his neck, holding him back while his brothers drifted away. He gently placed a hand on his neck and took calming breathes.

"It wasn't real," he told himself firmly, "it wasn't real. She's not here. She can't hurt me."

He repeated those words over and over again, trying to calm his shivering body, but he felt too alone, the presence of his brothers was missing and the darkness around him felt too ominous.

He needed his brothers.

Edward sat silently for a few more minutes in bed, listening to the rain come down outside. It was the only sound filling his room, besides his labouring breathes and he struggled to calm himself down. He wanted his brothers, he needed his brothers. Their warmth, their support, their love, he needed it and sitting alone in the dark wasn't helping.

Edward quickly got out of his bed, grabbing one of his pillows and made his way out of his room. The rain continued to fall outside, filling the air with its sound as it hit against the windows and roof. Edward practically raced down the stairs, into the second floor and made it to Jasper's bedroom door. He took a moment to collect himself and hugged the pillow close to his chest.

Should he go in? Should he really disturb his brother's sleep over something like this? Edward hesitated; now he just felt stupid, he wasn't a baby. He was trying not to be a burden on his brothers; he didn't want to worry them. But waking them up in the middle of the night when they clearly needed their rest, didn't that count as worrying them.

Edward silently scowled himself, he was seventeen for god's sake, he should be able to get over a nightmare and not go crying to his brothers whenever something bad happened. But the shivering wouldn't stop, the words and images raced through his mind as he stood alone in the dark hallway. A small whimper escaped through his mouth before he could stop it and he silently struggled on what he needed to do next.

Before he could decide to go back to his room or maybe go to the kitchen for a drink, Jasper's door suddenly opened and a wake Jasper, dressed in his night clothes, stepped out into the hallway and looked at his little brother.

"Edward? You okay?" Jasper asked, concerned. He could feel his young brother's emotions raging within him, from scared to hesitant.

Edward nodded and gave his brother a small tired smile, "I-I'm fine… I just—"

"Did you have a nightmare?" Jasper stepped up to Edward and ran a hand through his bronze unkempt hair.

Edward leaned into the touch, relishing in his brother's comfort but didn't say anything to that. "Sorry if I woke you."

"You didn't, I couldn't get any sleep either," Jasper admitted sheepishly and rested his hand on Edward's shoulder.

This time Edward looked at his older brother in concern. Jasper's mind was frazzled Edward noticed, there was a lot going on in there, "you're thinking too much," he said slightly sternly.

Jasper sighed and then smiled, "just have a lot on my mind Ed."

"No kidding," he snorted and hugged his pillow against his chest, tighter. "You've been having nightmares too."

It was more of a statement than a question and Jasper knew it. He had been getting nightmares in the past week; he hadn't been getting much sleep. Always waking up in an empty and silent room, he couldn't feel his brothers soothing and peaceful emotions while sleeping around him and that unnerved him.

Jasper nodded reluctantly, "they were bound to come."

Edward frowned; he guessed the bliss of finally moving away from their aunt couldn't last forever. There was ten years of horrid memories of her they wouldn't be able to get rid of so easily.

Jasper noticed Edwards increasing melancholy and gently squeezed his shoulder. He gave his young brother a reassuring smile and was happy to note the small waves of content and calm overtake him slowly.

"Hey, I've got an idea," he said, he looked into his room and then back to his little brother. "Wait here."

Before Edward could ask what he was doing, Jasper quickly dashed into his room, grabbed one of his own pillows and quickly came out.

"Come on," he smiled, slinging his arm over his brother's shoulders and started walking down the hall.

Edward followed silently, leaning into his brother and noticed that his trembling was starting to subside. They stopped in front of Emmett's room and Edward grinned. Jasper opened the door and they both walked in.

Emmett's room was shrouded in darkness and besides from the sound of the rain coming down outside, their older brother's snoring filled up the air. They both chuckled and simultaneously ran across the room and climbed onto the king sized bed. Emmett was lying on his back, on the far side of the bed, one arm dangling off the bed and muttering now and again in his sleep.

Emmett didn't stir or show any signs of waking up when they got on the bed. Jasper resisted the urge to poke him, just to get some reaction out of their brother, but instead he grabbed Edward's pillow and placed it next to Emmett's.

He placed his pillow next to Edward's, picked up the covers and motioned Edward to get in. Edward raised his eyebrows at Jasper, but shrugged and crawled in. They always made Edward sleep in the middle. Jasper and Emmett both had tendencies to kick and move around too much at night. But whenever the youngest of them was nestled in between them, they subconsciously cuddled up together and somehow there were no painful kicks to the body and fists to the faces.

Jasper followed after Edward and they both settled onto the bed, moving a little to get into more comfortable positions. Edward curled up into Emmett's side and Jasper placed an arm over his little brother, cuddling up next to him. He sighed as he felt Edward's fear ebb away and contentment to roll over, his trembling disappearing to nothing. It was just what both of them needed, to know that each other was close and safe and to feel their bodies warmth and the calming sounds of their breaths fill their ears.

"Thanks Jasper," mumbled Edward with a smile and he felt Jasper nod behind him and brought his chin to rest on top of his head.

"We should have done this from the start," chuckled Jasper gently, "I think we've just gotten used to having each other in the same room, that we can't sleep alone for too long."

Edward agreed and smirked, "guess a week is our limit."

"Took you guys long enough," stated a sleepy voice making both young boys jumped and Emmett moved to his side and circled an arm over his two brothers. Emmett looked cheekily at them and they both glared at him.

"You were awake?" Edward asked.

Emmett gave a light laugh, "yeah."

Jasper narrowed his brown eyes at him, "you're usually out like a light bro. Why are you still awake?" He poked hard into Emmett's chest, causing the older boy to shuffle and punch him on the arm.

Edward rolled his eyes at his brothers and buried his face into his pillow; he was finally too comfortable and sleepy to care about their scuffle, the images of his nightmare fading in the company of his brothers. Just knowing they were here made him relax.

"I haven't been sleeping much, just like the both of you," shrugged Emmett and he tightened his hold on his siblings.

"You could have just told us," stated Edward sleepily.

Emmett smirked, "and lose my pride, no way."

He blew into his youngest brother's sleepy face, causing the boy's bronze hair to fly away from his eyes and he received a glare in return. "Your breathe stinks," came the tired accusation.

Emmett laughed, "I know. We need to get some more toothpaste."

"We're out already?" grumbled Jasper, "I don't feel like being stared at again. You're going this time." It wasn't that he didn't like going into town, he loved Forks. But Forks wasn't a vastly populated city like Phoenix and majority of the people living here knew each other. So to be seen as a new person got them quite a lot of curious and suspicious stares and he could really do without them.

Edward shuffled a little, knowing what Jasper meant, he could easily tell what he was thinking about, "I could go," he suggested conversationally.

"NO," came the immediate response from both his older brothers and he felt their arms tighten around him.

Edward sighed and then pouted into Emmett's chest, "I'm not sick anymore you know. You two made sure of that. My coughing has stopped, my throat doesn't hurt anymore and I haven't had a headache for three days."

"We know Ed, but your bruises haven't cleared up completely yet and I don't want you doing anything that might aggravate them," said Emmett tensely.

"And you just got over the flu; we just want you to wait a little while before going out. You know, when the rain lets up a little," said Jasper.

"I don't know if you guys have noticed or not, but it's always raining here," said Edward, the pattering of the rain outside emphasising his point, but he resigned himself to his fate of another week at home. He really didn't have it in him to argue with his brothers about this and he realised he didn't really care. They waited ten years to come back here and honestly he wasn't in any hurry to leave, even for a little while.

"That's beside the point," said Emmett, "anyway I don't mind going. I'll make a list of everything we need and go tomorrow."

Jasper nodded approvingly and Edward sighed again.

"Do we have enough money to get full supply of everything?" asked Jasper after a few minutes of silence. They usually tried not to get too much, just enough for them so their money would last. But at this rate all the money Emmett, Edward and Jasper had saved and hid from their aunt might end within the next few months.

"Yeah we do, don't worry about it," said Emmett dismissively. "We have enough saved to last."

"For all three of us?" the two younger Cullens looked at their older brother and Emmett resisted the urge to fidget under their scrutiny. Even in the darkness he could feel their brown and green eyes staring at him.

"For a good while," he replied lightly.

Jasper sighed, "Maybe we should start looking for jobs, just to be on the safe side."

Emmett shrugged, "maybe. We've got enough saved, but more would be better." Jasper nodded, "I'll look around if anyone's hiring."

"I can get a job too right?" piped up Edward hopefully. He really wanted to help his brothers and earning some more cash was one way to do it.

Emmett and Jasper looked at each other and Edward narrowed his eyes at them. He knew that they knew they couldn't hide much from him and there was no point in trying. However he waited for his brothers to finish their mental bickering and shifted a little in the safety of their arms.

He smiled brightly at them when he felt them finally look at him, but he was pretty sure they couldn't see it because of the darkness in the room. There was a reluctant agreement and Edward quickly latched on to it.

"Great," he stated happily, "I'll help you guys look for a job as well. I'll start searching online in the morning."

Emmett and Jasper sighed, but smiled. "Sure," said Jasper, "maybe we can find something we can do together."

"As long as it has good pay," said Emmett and then added cheekily, "and I get to be employee of the month."

"Well if the employer is a woman, we definitely know you're going to start sucking up to her," Jasper grinned.

Edward laughed and Emmett glared, "hey I only suck up if it's a hot chick and I don't do it all the time. I know my boundaries."

Jasper rolled his eyes good naturedly, "sure you do," he said. That got him another punch.

"I can really do without seeing you flirt bro," groaned Edward.

"Ditto," agreed Jasper.

Emmett's glare turned into amusement, "you guys are just jealous. You can't get the ladies like I can."

Both his younger brothers blanched and punched him for that and he laughed.

"Whatever dude," said Jasper.

"Can't we go to sleep now?" whined Edward and buried his head into the pillow. His brothers laughed at him and settled down. They cuddled together and what seemed like weeks, they finally were able to drift into sweet dreamless sleep.

* * *

Bella sighed for the umpteenth time into the phone, trying to keep the annoyance out of her voice as she answered automatically to the ramblings of her friend.

Why Jessica had to tell her every detail of her trip she had no idea, but she didn't want to sound rude and cut her off like she knew Rosalie would do. So she endured it.

It was evening, she had just finished ironing her clothes, when the phone rang and she was suddenly stuck for the next hour listening to Jessica, instead of curling up on her bed with her favourite book like she wanted to.

Not that she didn't like Jessica, but they rarely hanged out together and she only called her or sort her out when none of her own friends were available. She only presumed Mike and the others were hiding from her so they could get away from her constant rambling about her trip.

"… anyways have you noticed the new guys in town recently?"

The sudden change of topic caught Bella off guard, "huh?"

"Bella were you even listening? I asked if you've seen two new guys in town recently."

"Oh um… no, no I haven't. What guys?"

"I haven't seen them either; I just came back two days ago. But Lauren, Tyler and Eric have, they've been telling me about these two guys walking around town. No one really knows them, haven't seen them around before."

"Well that's interesting," said Bella, new guys? Didn't Alice say that someone new was coming, but that was over two weeks ago.

"Yeah it is and apparently they're total hunks," said Jessica excitedly, "Lauren said one of them is really tall and muscular and the other has such beautiful blond hair. But they aren't really chatty; they just come, get what they need and then leave."

"If they're new here, they're probably just settling down then," said Bella, she didn't really care much for how they looked and Jessica hadn't really seen them directly and well she didn't think much of Lauren's observations.

"Wonder where they live, don't mind finding out and getting to know them if what Lauren says is true. It'll be nice to see some new faces around here," Jessica sighed and Bella could practically imagine the dreamy look she would have on at this very moment.

Bella 'hummed' and she heard the front door open from the kitchen, Charlie was back.

"Bells, you down?"

"I'm in the kitchen dad," she called, "Jessica I have to go, I'll talk to you later okay," relieved to finally find a reason to end the call.

"Sure Bella, see you at school," Bella ended the call and put the phone away as Charlie came into the kitchen holding a pizza box and a bag of sodas.

"I brought takeout," smiled Charlie, "got your favourite toppings, thought a break from cooking would be good."

"Thanks dad," Bella smiled and took out two plates and glasses and they both settled onto the kitchen table.

They talked for a while before eating in comfortable silence, just enjoying the food and each other's company. Bella cleared everything up when they finished and they both retired into the living room.

After a half an hour of watching sports on TV, Charlie sparked up a conversation. "How come Alice and Rosalie didn't come today? Thought Alice was going to drag you out for something again."

There was humour in Charlie's voice and Bella knew very well that her dad knew what the 'something' was. Charlie was very fond of Alice and he enjoyed having Rosalie and her over, glad that his daughter had some company when she was home alone.

"You mean shopping," Charlie gave a small laugh and Bella rolled her eyes, "no, remember when I told you we're planning on going hiking. We just haven't gotten around to deciding when."

Charlie nodded, but frowned a little. He was a little concerned with the girls' plans to go hiking, not that he'll stop them, but he knew how accident prone Bella could be and hiking in the forest sometimes wasn't a good idea, especially with all the wild animals around.

"I would prefer you go shopping than hiking. I don't want you getting hurt Bells."

Bella shook her head and smiled at her father, "I rather go hiking in the woods than shopping with Alice again dad. Shopping is like a sport to her, I can't keep up and I'll be careful. You know I will."

She didn't want her dad to worry, but he knew she was going with Alice and Rosalie and all three of them always looked out for each other and had each other's backs. They acted more like sisters than best friends and that was fondly known by each of their family members.

Charlie sighed, "Alright, just let me know when you're going. I'll get some stuff for you to take with you."

Bella rolled her eyes, "we'll be fine dad."

"Bells," her father nearly whined, "it'll be for my peace of mind and anyway how much of that pepper spray do you have left."

Seriously did her dad just ask her that question, she barely had to use the spray. But nonetheless she always kept it on her person whenever she went out. "Still a full can dad," she reassured him than asked, "why?"

Charlie nodded, "been hearing talk about some strangers in the city, no one knows where they came from or where they live. So just keep an eye out."

"You mean the two guys seen walking around?"

"Yes, have you seen them?" asked Charlie curiously.

Bella shook her head, "no, Jessica just told me about it, apparently they just moved here. Don't know much else about them."

Charlie hummed in thought as he relaxed into the couch, "I'll see if I can find out more about them, check out who they are and where they came from."

Her father's cautious tone of voice spiked Bella's curiosity, "do you think they're dangerous?"

"I don't know Bella, but I am chief of police, it's my responsibility to make sure Forks is safe," he noticed his daughter's sudden concern and he smiled reassuringly at her, "don't worry, as far as I know they seem harmless. But nonetheless don't let your guard down."

Bella nodded and settled back into the cushion of the armchair and Charlie went back to watching the baseball game.

Some new people had arrived in Forks and she couldn't help the feeling that things were going to change soon.

* * *

**(A/N) There you have it, chapter 6 is done. You know I find it much easier to write about the boys than I do with the girls. I hope I got Charlie's character right **_**(grins sheepishly)**_**.**

_**IMPORTANT NOTE:**_**_ To check out how I'm progressing with the next chapter, please looks at my profile page, under where it says "Update News" and "Update Meanings". I'll let you know there how much I've gotten done and how much is left. I'm not going to leave Author Notes as chapters in any of my stories, so if you want to know what's going on with the next chapter or any of my stories, please check out my Update section on my profile._  
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**NO ONE ANSWERED MY QUESTION **_**(pouts)**_** what's the waitress's name in the movie Twilight? But no worries I found out **_**(grins)**_** the long and exhausting way by watching the movie and then rewinding and forwarding and rewinding and forwarding constantly so I can see the name tag on the actress's uniform **_**(laughs)**_**. Her name is CORA… I like it **_**(grins)**_** you'll be reading about her in the next chapter. **

**Next Chapter**** will be the boys finding a job and Emmett's got a surprise for his brothers… depending if they take it as a good one **_**(snickers)**_**. And the girls are going to hear more and more about their boys. **

**I have rekindled my love for Rise of the Guardians **_**(grins)**_** I watched it twice when it came out in cinema and now I finally got it on DVD after dying for it for months **_**(mega happy smile)**_**. I love Jack Frost and the Guardians and also Hiccup from How to Train Your Dragon, LOVE that movie. You can tell by the increase of my favourite stories that some time had gone into reading and well I've been getting so much inspiration that I've drawn a picture of Jack Frost****.**

**If you like to check it out please visit my Deviantart profile, where the link is on my Fanfiction profile. I'm not great, but hope you like **_**(smiles)**_**.**

**Anyways I'll stop my rambling now and let you go, like always constructive criticism is encouraged and so is advice. Sorry for any spelling or grammar mistakes, I tried my best. Thank you again to those who reviewed, I hope you enjoyed this chapter _(smiles)_.**

**Now you know what to do **_**(smiles and points down to the review box) **_**please review.**


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